Kanchanpur, July 21 -- Every time the monsoon arrives, Krishna Singh Bista braces for another sleepless night.

Rainwater seeps through the plastic roof of the makeshift shelter where the 56-year-old has lived for the past six months on government land outside the Division Forest Office in Mahendranagar. It soaks his bedding, clothes, and the few belongings he owns.

"There are days when we go to bed hungry because the firewood is too wet to light," Bista said. "On one side, there's the fear of snakes. On the other hand, rainwater pours through the roof. Everything gets soaked. You can't even sleep."

Bista is among hundreds of families displaced more than two decades ago when the former Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, now Shuklaphanta Nat...