Nepal’s “national pride” highway project threatens ancient indigenous communities and cultural heritage

In the ancient settlement of Khokana, perched on the southern edge of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, Manhera Shrestha’s family faces the loss of everything they hold dear. For generations, they have cultivated the same ancestral land, but a 2016 government land acquisition notice delivered devastating news: a new highway would slice through their fields, claiming 0.75 acres of the fertile land that sustains their household of 12 people.

The proposed Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track highway, promoted by Nepal’s government as a “national pride” project, promises to reduce travel times between Kathmandu and the southern city of Nijgadh. However, the infrastructure development has sparked fierce resistance from Indigenous Newa communities in Khokana and neighboring Bungamati, settlements that have preserved centuries-old traditions and vibrant cultural festivals.

“We will lose everything,” Shrestha explains, standing outside her home. “It’s not only about our land and house. Once the highway comes, it will not just change the settlement but also our culture and traditions. Khokana will not remain Khokana anymore. We will lose our identity.”

The controversy highlights a familiar tension between modernization and cultural preservation faced by Indigenous communities worldwide. While the government frames the highway as essential infrastructure for national development, residents argue that the project threatens to irreversibly alter their agrarian way of life and erase the unique cultural identity that has defined these historic settlements for centuries.