Bhalwari is a small town in the

Rupandehi District Rupandehi District (; ), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and covers an area of . The district headquarter is Bhairahawa. As per the national census 2011, the population of Rupandehi was 880,196. Etymo ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. It is located Tilottama municipality ward no. 9 near two larger towns, 12 km south of

Butwal Butwal (), officially Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City (), previously known as Khasyauli (Nepali: खस्यौली), is a sub-metropolitan city and economic hub in Lumbini Province in West Nepal. Butwal has a city population of 195,054 as per t ...

and 10 km north of Bhairahawa.

Etymology

The name ''Bhalwari'' derives from the word ''bhal'' in Nepali, the Nepalese language, and means "force of the water". The settlement was named as such because it experienced frequent flooding in the past.

Population

Most of the population consists of Pahadi people who migrated from nearby villages. The settlement also has a significant number of Madhesi people.

Culture and religion

The majority of the population of Bhalwari trace their ancestry to nearby hilly regions of Palpa,

Arghakhanchi Arghakhanchi ( ) is one of the districts of Lumbini Province in Nepal. The district headquarter is Sandhikharka. The district covers an area of and has a population (2011) of 197,632. Its neighboring districts are Palpa District, Palpa in the ea ...

, and Syangja. Because of this, Butwal's culture is significantly influenced by the Pahadi. The population is predominantly

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. The majority of the people are

Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung language, Gurung: ) are a Tibetan people, Tibetan ethnic group living in the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurungs speak Tamu kyi which is a Sino-Tibetan language derived from the ...

, Tharu,

Thakuri The Thakuri (Nepali: ठकुरी) . This term is Nepalese title ""Thakuri"", which translates to 'master of the estate'. The term denotes the royal descendants of kings of Baise Rajya and Chaubisi Rajya. During the height of their influence ...

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' (; IAST: ''Brahman'') connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality of the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In the ...

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali language, Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of ...

, and Magar. There are some

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, as well, who are of Madhesi origin. The major festivals celebrated are

Holi Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...

Teej Tīja, , literally meaning "third"—denoting the third day after the new moon when the monsoon begins as per the Hindu calendar—is a collective term for three Hindu List of Hindu festivals, festivals primarily dedicated to the mother goddess ...

Maha Shivratri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

Losar Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237-38.) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various da ...

Dashain Dashain or Bada'dashain, also known as Vijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a Hindu religious festival in Nepal, Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, South India, and Sri Lanka. It is also celebrated by other religions in Nepal and elsewhere, including the Lho ...

, Tihar and

Bhai Tika Bhai Dooj, Bhai Tika, Bhaubeej, Bhai Beej, Bhai Phonta or Bhratri Dwitiya is a festival celebrated by Hindus on the second lunar day of the Shukla Paksha (bright fortnight) of Kartika, the eighth month of the Vikram Samvat Hindu calendar or the ...

. Since the majority of the population are from nearby villages, most of them go to their native villages during the month-long festivities. From

to Tihar, the town becomes nearly deserted.

Economy

The main economy of the Bhalwari is agriculture and small-scale industries. There is one oil store, Nepal Oil Corporation, which has 4 large tanks. There are many rice mills, including Siddhababa Rice Mill, Siddhartha Rice Mill, Om Shiva Rice Mill, Deurali Rice Mill, Pathak Rice Mill, and PnP general stores. There are other medium-scale industries, such as the JK Soap & Cosmetics and Siddhababa Distillery. There are one commercial bank, two development banks, and several co-operatives. Nabil Bank is one of these commercial banks. Bhrikutee Development Bank and Purnima Development Bank have Class B banking licenses from Nepal Rastra Bank.

Transportation

As in most of

, buses are the major means of transportation, with many private operators running bus services between popular destinations. Until 2003, most of the bus fleet was made up of large, old buses. Since then, operators have purchased newer, smaller buses, commonly called

Micro Micro may refer to: Measurement * micro- (μ), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 10−6 Places * Micro, North Carolina, town in U.S. People * DJ Micro, (born Michael Marsicano) an American trance DJ and producer * Chii Tomiya (都宮 � ...

because of their small size. There is frequent Micro service between Butwal and Bhairahawa. Older vehicles are also used to ferry people to nearby hilly regions. Apart from this,

rickshaws Rickshaw originally denoted a pulled rickshaw, which is a two- or three-wheeled cart generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also known as pedicabs or tri ...

are also a popular means of transport and can be found in abundance in Bhalwari. There are also many taxies, making it is easier to go anywhere, day or night. Bicycles, motorbikes, and cars are also common means of personal transportation around town.

Education

There are several educational institutions in Bhalwari. There are five private primary level schools and one government school. The main educational institution of the town is Lumbini Engineering College. It is the only engineering college in the

Lumbini Lumbinī (, "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. The Buddhist commentaries state that Maya Devi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini around 624 BCE. Gautama is bel ...

zone. Other Private Schools include Araniko English High School, St. Joseph, Little Paradise, and one Montessori school, Pioneer Kids Montessori.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Rupandehi District