Kathmandu. The homestay of the endangered Bankaria settlement in Manahari Rural Municipality-4 of Makwanpur has been closed.

The homestay, which was constructed with the objective of developing the endangered Bankaria settlement as a tourist destination and promoting tourism and economic upliftment of the Banakawariya community, has been closed due to lack of tourists.

The two-room homestay was upgraded and constructed in 2077 BS with the assistance of Rs 500,000 from Manahari Rural Municipality by upgrading the house where the then Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai lived, the then Chief Minister of Bagmati Province, Dormani Poudel, inaugurated it. Arati Bankaria, a local, said that the structure of Bankaria Homestay has become dilapidated due to lack of tourists and proper conservation.

“After the investment from the rural municipality, we built a neat homestay by plastering the huts with bamboo and straw,” said Arati Bankaria, adding, “In the first few years, a large number of students and researchers from Kathmandu, Hetauda, Pokhara and other places used to come to study and eat local chicken meat in our homestay. But in the last few years, the number of tourists has decreased, so the homestay had to be closed,” said Aarti.

However, the structure of the homestay has become weak as it has not been used for a long time after the tourists stopped coming, said local Bishnumaya Bankaria. According to him, the structure fenced with bamboo is cracked and it is not possible to stay in the homestay.

According to Bishnu Maya, the homestay was constructed to provide the dishes of the Bankaria community and other local dishes and to support the income of the Bankaria community.

“When the government shifted us from the wild life to the settlement in Musedhap, many tourists used to come to study us,” said Santoshi Bankaria, a leader of the Wankariya settlement, “The homestay was doing well at that time, but for the last two years, the homestay has become dilapidated, so we closed the homestay.” He said that due to the lack of tourists, we have to spend only on the preservation and maintenance of the homestay and become inproductive.

Santoshi said that although the homestay was operated with the intention of developing the Bankaria settlement as a tourist destination, it was compelled to close due to the lack of tourists.

“First of all, tourists are needed to run homestays, due to lack of tourists, there was no money and the homestay could not be run in a systematic way,” Santoshi said, “Secondly, the rural municipality invested in setting up homestays, but did not bring concrete programs to promote tourism, due to which tourists gradually stopped coming.” He said that the homestay can still be operated well if a program can be made to bring tourists to the Bankaria settlement.

Locals say that the homestay has collapsed due to lack of ability to stay overnight even though there is an arrangement to feed the guests who come to see the settlement of the endangered Bankaria community in Nepal. Ward Chairman of Manahari Rural Municipality-4, Prakash Thapa, said that the Bankaria Homestay is in crisis due to the lack of attention to its sustainability and management along with the operation of homestay.

“The homestay was built but the operators did not think about how to make it sustainable and systematic,” said ward chair Thapa, adding, “As a result, the homestay built to reflect the identity of Bankaria settlement was closed.” Ward Chairman Thapa said that although the homestay of Bankaria settlement has been closed, efforts are being made to operate the homestay in Bankaria soon.

The endangered Vankaria caste, once known as a nomadic species in the central region of Parsa, was shifted from wild life to human settlement by the government in 2062 BS. There are 24 families in this settlement belonging to the Vankaria community.

The District Forest Office, Makwanpur, had provided nine hectares of land under the Kabuliyati forest group. People of these tribes have been living there for about 20 years. According to the 2078 census, the total population of the Vankaria tribe is 180 and the population of the mother tongue is only 86. Santoshi Bankaria, a leader of the Vankaria community, said that the Vankaria tribe lives only in that settlement of Nepal. According to Santoshi, there are 91 Bankariyas, including 45 women and 46 men, in the settlement.

According to him, out of 91 people in these settlements, 50 have obtained citizenship and 26 have their names in the voters’ list. Until a few years ago, the nomadic foresters are now rearing chickens, goats and buffaloes along with farming, while some work as daily wage labourers.