Dhankuta
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dhankuta ( ) is a hill town and the headquarters of Dhankuta District in
Koshi Province Koshi Province () is an autonomous Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal adopted by the Constitution of Nepal on 20 September 2015. It covers an area of , about 17.5% of the country's total area. With the industrial city of Biratnagar as its cap ...
in Eastern
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 ...
. According to
2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working in cooperation with the 58 municipalities and the 3,915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the m ...
, it has population of 26,440 inhabitants.


History

Until about 1963, Dhankuta Bazaar (the town) was the administrative headquarters for the whole of north-eastern Nepal. Located a half-mile above the town were the buildings of the Bada Hakim, the feudal district which governed the whole north-eastern region. The town also held the regional jail and army post. Because of Dhankuta's isolation from the lowland
Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...
and from
Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
, it was in many ways a self-governing area.Personal experience of Professor Dick Mayer, Nepal 2 Peace Corps Volunteer, 1963–65 Income to purchase items (cloth, kerosene, batteries, medicines, etc.) that could not be produced locally came from a combination of sales of hill produce (tangerines, potatoes, etc.) and funds repatriated back into the hills by Gorkha soldiers serving first in the British and then more-often in the Indian armies. The first five American
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
volunteers arrived in Dhankuta Bazaar in Fall, 1962 to work as teachers in the two high schools. In October 1963 three additional volunteers arrived to help establish the new Panchayat Development program. From 1963 Nepal was divided into 75 Panchayat Districts, and the traditional Dhankuta administrative region was divided up into about six of the panchayat districts. The power of the Bada Hakim was transferred to the central government's appointed Panchayat Development Officer and each district's elected Panchayat President. During the pre-panchayat period Dhankuta Bazaar prided itself as being in the cultural vanguard, a relatively progressive community with its own "intellectual" elite. Dhankuta Bazaar, already in the 1930s, had the only high school in Nepal to be located outside of the
Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley (), also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley (, Newar language, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः), National Capital Area, is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayas, Hima ...
. Early on it added a girl's high school and a two-year college. Then and now there is a sharp contrast between Dhankuta Bazaar and the surrounding rural villages. The town is a commercial center and has a population that is primarily
Newar Newar (; , endonym: Newa; , Pracalit script: ), or Nepami, are primarily inhabitants in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal and its surrounding areas, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Page 15. Newars are a distinct linguisti ...
. The surrounding area is agricultural and the population is made up of many caste/tribal groups, notably Athpare, Limbu, Yakkha, Rai, Magar, Tamang and Tibetan. One of the famous places in ''Dhankuta'' is ''Hile''. It serves as a gateway to ''Dhankuta'' and ''Panchthar'' districts and from here, visitors can also trek to the temple of Goddes ''Pahtibhara'', situated three kilometers west of the place. Another place situated here is the ''Rajarani'' valley, which is a place of historical significance and is also believed to be the capital of '' Limbu'' kingdom in the past. The place that once had two ponds called ''Raja'' and ''Rani'' now lay as plain areas.


Demographics

At the
2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working in cooperation with the 58 municipalities and the 3,915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the m ...
, Dhankuta Municipality had a population of 38,629. Of these, 49.8% spoke Nepali, 14.6% Athpare, 7.0% Tamang, 6.6% Magar, 6.2%
Newar Newar (; , endonym: Newa; , Pracalit script: ), or Nepami, are primarily inhabitants in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal and its surrounding areas, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Page 15. Newars are a distinct linguisti ...
, 4.5% Rai, 3.5% Limbu, 2.1% Bantawa, 1.2% Maithili, 0.6% Yakkha, 0.5% Sherpa, 0.4% Chamling, 0.3% Sampang, 0.3%
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
, 0.2% Bhujel, 0.2%
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 ...
, 0.2%
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, 0.1%
Bhojpuri Bhojpuri may refer to: * Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal * Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language * Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language * Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language * Bhojpuri region ...
, 0.1% Chhiling, 0.1% Chintang, 0.1% Khaling, 0.1% Kulung, 0.1% Majhi, 0.1% Tharu, 0.1% Thulung, 0.1% Yamphu and 0.3% other languages as their first language. In terms of ethnicity/caste, 20.5% were
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 ...
, 15.7% Aathpariya, 10.1% Rai, 9.6% Hill Brahmin, 9.3%
Newar Newar (; , endonym: Newa; , Pracalit script: ), or Nepami, are primarily inhabitants in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal and its surrounding areas, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Page 15. Newars are a distinct linguisti ...
, 8.2% Tamang, 7.3% Magar, 4.3% Limbu, 3.8%
Kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...
, 1.9%
Damai Damai ( ; IAST: ''Damāĩ'') is an occupational caste found among indigenous people comprising 45 subgroups. Their surnames take after the subgroup they belong to. People belonging to this caste are traditionally tailors and musicians capable o ...
/Dholi, 1.4% Gharti/ Bhujel, 1.4%
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 ...
, 1.2% Sarki, 0.6% Yakkha, 0.5% Sherpa, 0.4%
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 ...
, 0.3% Bantawa, 0.3% Majhi, 0.3%
Musalman Musalman may refer to: *Mussulman, variant of an archaic term for "Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, th ...
, 0.3% Tharu, 0.2% Halwai, 0.2% Teli, 0.2% other Terai, 0.1% Bengali, 0.1% Bhote, 0.1% Terai
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
, 0.1%
Chamar Chamar (or Jatav) is a community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's Reservation in India, system of affirmative action that originated from the group of trade persons who were involved in leather tanning and shoemaking. They a ...
/Harijan/Ram, 0.1% Chamling, 0.1% other
Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
, 0.1% Dom, 0.1% Hajjam/Thakur, 0.1% Kalwar, 0.1%
Kayastha Kayastha (or Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the Chandraseniya Ka ...
, 0.1% Marwadi, 0.1% Sanyasi/Dasnami, 0.1%
Yadav Yadavs are a grouping of non-elite, peasant-pastoral Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states l ...
and 0.5% others. In terms of religion, 62.5% were
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 ...
, 23.6% Kirati, 11.2%
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 ...
, 1.8%
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.3%
Muslim 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 ...
, 0.1%
Prakriti Prakriti ( ) is "the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". It is a key concept in Hinduism, formulated by the ''Samkhya'' school, where it does not refer merely to matter or nature, but includes all cog ...
and 0.4% others. In terms of literacy, 81.7% could read and write, 1.5% could only read and 16.8% could neither read nor write.


Climate


Present status

Dhankuta Bazaar, on the North-South Koshi Highway, is now the administrative headquarters for the Eastern Development Region, and is home to a number of offices for
NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
and aid agencies serving in the area. The large bazaar of Hile further up the road, is an important trading centre and major road head, serving the remote hinterlands of the Arun valley and Bhojpur. Villagers walk for many days from surrounding districts to trade in Hile and Dhankuta bazaars, although road building in the district may reduce the importance of these centers. ‘Nepal's cleanest city’ as proposed by The Kathmandu post.


Vegetation

The vegetation zones in the district range from sub-tropical Sal forest along the Tamor and Arun rivers, and cooler temperate forests on some of the high ridges that mark the watershed between the two catchments. The altitude ranges from around 300m to 2500m. The majority of the population are involved in agriculture and crops include maize, rice and
millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...
. Important cash crops include citrus fruits,
cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables cultivated from the species '' Brassica oleracea'' in the genus '' Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. Cauliflower usually grows with one main stem that carries a large, rou ...
,
cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...
,
ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...
, and in recent years,
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
. A well-preserved forest (Rani Bhan – Queen's Forest) spreads along a ridge line on the northwest side of the village, with well-developed mature stands of rhododendron and pine trees.


Health centres

Dhankuta District Hospital is located off the main street at the south end of the town. The hospital has facilities like inpatient service,
Ultrasonography Medical ultrasound includes diagnostic techniques (mainly imaging) using ultrasound, as well as therapeutic applications of ultrasound. In diagnosis, it is used to create an image of internal body structures such as tendons, muscles, joints, ...
and x-ray. Besides the government posted doctors, medical and dental intern doctors from BPKIHS are also posted there.


Media

Radio Nepal has a regional station in Dhankuta which transmits various programs of mass interest. Likewise, Radio Lali Guransa (105.2 MHz), Radio Makalu Dhankuta (92.2 MHz), and Radio Dhankuta (106.2 MHz) are
community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...
stations transmitting local programmes.


References

{{Authority control Populated places in Dhankuta District Municipalities in Koshi Province Nepal municipalities established in 1978 Municipalities in Dhankuta District