BANKE: Locals of Khaskusma village development committee, a remote village in Banke district, are not recognised as Nepalis yet. They are living in places such as Banskholi, Chunbhatti, Khairbhatti, Kuntepani, Ambasa, Bhairiya and Banwa without knowledge that they are in Khaskusma VDC that borders with Baijapur VDC of Banke and Bhauwanaka VDC of Dang. The population is not dense here. People are dispersed in the chure hills facing dense forests in the southern plains in India. Over 2,000 persons of 224 households are living in the VDC for some 25 years. They migrated here from Dang, Salyan, Ropla and Pyuthan. They were forced to migrate being unable to repay the loans. Some had returned during the insurgency. Some possess citizenship as residents of the districts they deserted, while many lack it. Banke survey office chief Sanjay Chhatkulli said the villages fall in Khaskusma VDC. The people were brought together thanks to the efforts of Rural Reconstruction Nepal. 'We have been living out of the state's care for the past 20 years,' Til Bahadur Gharti, a local said. The villagers make a living by cultivating and selling wood. A local administration team reached the villages yesterday to find facts. The locals asked them to recognise them as Nepalis. CDO Ganesh Bahadur Khatri said their demands would be reported to higher authorities.