Province No. 1

Koshi Province () is an autonomous 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 capital, the province includes the towns of Birtamod, Sundar Haraincha, Damak, Dharan, Itahari, Triyuga Municipality and Mechinagar, and Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga and Ama Dablam. Koshi River, the largest river of the nation, forms the province's western boundary. Under the First-past-the-post voting system issued by the Constituency Delimitation Commission, Nepal, the province hosts 28 parliamentary seats and 56 provincial assembly seats.
The province is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal to the east, Bihar to the south, and Bagmati Province and Madhesh Province to the west. According to the 2021 Nepal census, there are around five million people in the province, with a population density of 190 per square kilometre. In the 2011 Nepal census, the province had approximately 4.5 million people.

Etymology

The province is named ''Koshi'' after the Koshi River, which is the largest river in the country. On 1 March 2023 the former temporary name of the province, Province No. 1, was changed to Koshi Province. The Kosi river is significantly and culturally an important river of Nepal. The Koshi river is called ''Kausika'' in the ''Rigveda'' and ''Kausiki'' in the ''Mahabharata''. The Kosi is associated with many ancient spiritual stories. It is mentioned in the Bal Kand section of Valmiki's ''Ramayana'' as the Kausiki who is the form assumed by Satyavati after her death. In the Markandeya Purana, the Kosi is described as the primal force. Due to the violent nature of the Kosi in monsoon season, legend says that Parvati, the wife of Shiva, after defeating the demon Durg, became known as the warrior goddess Durga who transformed into Kaushiki. In Ramayana, the river Ganges is depicted as her elder sister. According to Mahabharata epic, the God of death took the form of a woman and resides on the banks of the river to limit population growth. Kosi resonates with the folklore of Mithila. The most important depictions of Kosi folklore are Kosi as a virgin absolutely carefree and full of energy, and as a frustrated wife of old hermit Richeek wandering in the Himalayas. Koshi river is also invoked as the mother: 'Kosi Ma'.

History

When King Mung Mawrong Hang came to prominence in the Terai lands of Limbuwan, he cleared much of the forest area in present-day Rangeli, east of Biratnagar, and built a town there. He named his Kingdom Morang after his name and rose to power.
Meanwhile, King Prithvi Narayan Shah was on a campaign to conquer all the hill kingdoms into his Empire (the Kingdom of Nepal). He attacked Limbuwan on two fronts. After the Limbuwan–Gorkha War from 1771 to 1774 AD, the Limbu ministers of Morang, and Limbu rulers of the ten principalities came to an agreement with the King of Gorkha. With the Limbuwan Gorkha treaty of 1774, Limbuwan was annexed to the Kingdom of Nepal.

The term ''district'' has been used in various ways throughout the modern history of Nepal.
At the end of the Rana regime, Nepal was divided into 32 districts. Eastern Nepal was composed of the following districts:
* Morang District
* Udayapur District
*Ilam District
* Dhankuta District
* Bhojpur District
* Okhaldhunga District
In 1956, the eastern districts of Nepal were grouped together into a region called the ''Aruṇ Kshetra'' or Arun Region, after the Arun River which flows through it. Arun Kshetra was made by combining the then five districts; it had total area of and a total population of 1.1 million people.
The five districts were:
# Biratnagar District: including Sunsari District and Morang District
# Dhankuta District: including Dhankuta District and Sankhuwasabha
# Taplejung District: including Taplejung and Panchtharl
# Mechi District: including Ilam District and Jhapa District
# Bhojpur District: including Bhojpur District and Khotang District
In 1962, the administrative system once again was changed, abolishing the ''kshetra'' system. The country was restructured into 75 development districts and those districts were grouped together into zones. In 1972, what is now called Koshi Province was called the Eastern Development Region that was composed of 16 districts which were grouped into three zones: Koshi, Mechi and Sagarmatha.
In 2015, the Constitution was adopted which made 14 districts into an autonomous Province which was temporarily named Province No. 1. At the cabinet meeting held on 17 January 2018, the city of Biratnagar was declared the interim capital of Province No. 1. On 6 May 2019, it was declared the permanent capital by a vote of two-thirds of the provincial Member of legislative assembly. The province was named Koshi Province on passage of the bill in Parliament. Later, some protested the name "Koshi".

Geography

Koshi Province covers an area of 25,905 km². The province has three-fold geographical division: Himalayan in the north, Hilly in the middle and Terai in the southern part of Nepal, varying between an altitude of 70 m and 8,848 m. Terai, extended from east to west, is made up of alluvial soil. To the west of Koshi River, in between Mahabharat Range and Churia Range, there elongates a valley called Inner Terai. Churai Range, Mahabharat Range and other hills of various heights, basins, tars, and valleys form the hilly region. Some parts of this region are favorable for agriculture but some other parts are not. The Himalayan region, in the north, consists of many mountains ranges. Mahalangur, Kumbhakarna, Umvek, Lumba Sumba and Janak being some of them. The highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest (8848.86 m); and the third highest mountain, Kangchenjunga (8598 m) also lie in this province.

Nepal's lowest point, Kechana Kawal at 70 m, is located in Jhapa District of this province. There are many river basins and gentle slopes as well. Chure, Mahabharat, many basins, tars, and valleys form the Terai region. Between the Churia and Mahabharat, a low land of inner Terai exists. The Koshi River flows through the region with its seven tributaries; Indrawati, Likhu, Tamur, Dudh Kosi, Arun, Tamakoshi and Bhote Koshi (Sunkoshi). Tundra vegetables, coniferous forests, deciduous monsoon forests, and sub-tropical evergreen woods are vegetations found here. Sub-tropical, temperate, sub-temperate, and alpine and tundra types of climates are found here.

Koshi Pradesh also includes the snow fall capped peaks including Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga, Makalu with Solukhumbu, Sankhuwasabha, and Taplejung districts towards the north, the jungle clad hill tracts of Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Bhojpur, Tehrathum, Ilam and Panchthar in the middle and the alluvial fertile plains of Udayapur, Sunsari, Morang and Jhapa. Province No. 1 includes places like Haleshi Mahadev Temple, Pathivara Temple and Barahachhetra, which are the famous religious shrines for Hindus.

Climate

Climatic conditions of Nepal vary from one place to another in accordance with their geographical features. Koshi Pradesh has three geographical folds: the lowland of Terai, the hilly region, and the Himalayas' highlands. The low land altitude is 59 m, whereas the highest point is 8848 m.

In the north, summers are cool and winters severe, while in the south, summers are tropical and winters are mild. Climatically, the southern belt of the province, the Terai, experiences a warm and humid climate. Eastern Nepal receives approximately 2,500 millimeters of rain annually. Koshi Pradesh has five seasons: spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and winter.

Mountains

The northern part of Koshi Pradesh has the highest mountain in the world. Here is a list of mountains in Koshi Pradesh.

Rivers

There are many rivers in the region that flow south from the Himalayas which are tributaries of other large rivers that join Ganga River (in India). Sapta Koshi or the Koshi is the main river of the region. Seven tributaries join the Koshi so it is called Saptkoshi.

The major rivers in the province are:
* Mechi River
* Kankai River
*Koshi River (SaptaKoshi) :
** Tamor
** Arun River
** Sun Koshi
** Dudh Koshi
** Likhu Khola
** Tama Koshi
** Indrawati River

Protected Areas

* Sagarmatha National Park –
* Makalu Barun National Park –
* Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve –
* Kanchenjunga Conservation Area –

Subdivisions

There are total of 137 local administrative units in this province, in which there is 1 metropolitan city, 2 sub-metropolitan cities, 46 municipalities and 88 rural municipalities.

Districts

The province is made up of the 14 following districts:

# Bhojpur District
# Dhankuta District
# Ilam District
# Jhapa District
# Khotang District
# Morang District
# Okhaldhunga District
# Panchthar District
# Sankhuwasabha District
# Solukhumbu District
# Sunsari District
# Taplejung District
# Tehrathum District
# Udayapur District

Municipality

Cities and villages are governed by municipalities in Nepal. A district may have one or more municipalities. Koshi Province has two types of municipalities.
# Urban Municipality '
## Metropolitan city
## Sub-metropolitan city and
## Municipality
# Rural Municipality (Gaunpalika)

The government of Nepal has set out minimum criteria to meet city and towns. These criteria include a certain population, infrastructure, and revenues.

Administration

The Province is governed by Unicameral parliamentary system of representative Democracy. The house consists of 93 seats where 56 candidates are elected by FPTP and 37 by proportional basis.
The legislative assembly comprises a Chief Minister who is executive Head, Deputy chief Minister who assists the Chief Minister, a speaker who host the assembly, a deputy speaker who assists the speaker, and various ministries which look over respective departments.

The first provincial elections in Nepal were held on 26 November and 7 December 2017. According to the results of this election in Koshi province, the biggest party is CPN (UML) winning 51 seats; the second biggest party is Nepali Congress which won 21 seats; the third biggest party is CPN (Maoist Center) which won 15 seats .
In a meeting on 17 January 2018, the Government of Nepal finalized the temporary capital of Province No. 1, which was renamed as Koshi Province in Falgun 17 2079 and appointed Govinda Subba as the governor.
Sher Dhan Rai was elected as first Chief Minister of Koshi Province on 14 February 2018. Currently Hikmat Kumar Karki is serving as Chief Minister who is the executive Head of Koshi Government
For convenience and decentralisation, the province is divided into 14 districts, making it the province with the most districts in Nepal. CDO is the administrative head of each District. District inturn is further divided into Metropolitan city or/and Sub Metropolitan city or/and Municipality or/and Rural Municipality which has its own Local Government.

Infrastructure

Healthcare

Koshi province stretches from Himalayan region to terai belt due to which health facilities are more viable in Terai than other parts.
Koshi Province has 791 public health facilities: 3 Hub hospitals ( BPKIHS, Koshi Hospital), 18 Public Hospitals, 1 Regional Medical Store, 41 Primary health centre, 648 Health Post, 34 Urban health care centre, 41 community health units.

Energy

There are various power stations in Koshi province:
* Mai Hydropower Station is one of station located in Illam and was established in 2014 producing 22 MW energy.
* Puwa Khola Hydropower Station is located in Illam with capacity of 6.2 MW energy and was established in 1999.
* Chatara Hydropower Station is located in Sunsari District with production capacity of 3.2 MW energy. It was established in 1996.
* Iwa Khola Hydropower Project was established in 2018–19.
* Upper Mai Hydropower Station is located in Illam with a capacity of 12 MW.
* Pikhuwa Khola Hydropower Station is located in Bhojpur with a capacity of 5 MW.
* Hewa Khola-A Hydroelectric Project is located in Pachthar with a capacity of 14.9 MW.
* Jogmai Khola Hydropower Station is located in Illam with a capacity of 7.6 MW.
* Upper Puwa-1 Hydropower Station is located in Illam with a capacity of 3 MW.
* Upper Mai-C Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established with a capacity of 6.1 MW.
* Kabeli B1 Hydropower Station is located in Pachthar and established in 2019 with a capacity of 25 MW.
* Lower Hewa Hydropower Station is located in Pachthar and established in 2017 with a capacity of 21.6 MW.
* Mai Cascade Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established in 2014 with a capacity of 8 MW.
* Puwa Khola-1 Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established in 2014 with a capacity of 4 MW.
* Solu Hydropower Station is located in Solukhumbu and established in 2016 with a capacity of 23.5 MW.
* Molun Khola Small Hydropower Station is located in Okhaldhunga and established in 2019 with a capacity of 7 MW.
* Upper Khorunga Hydropower Station is located in Tehrathum and established in 2018 with a capacity of 7.5 MW.
* Super Mai Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established in 2020 with a capacity of 7.8 MW.
* Super Mai-A Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established in 2020 with a capacity of 9.6 MW.
* Super Mai Khola Cascade Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established in 2020 with a capacity of 3.8 MW.
* Mai Khola Small Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established in 2008 with a capacity of 4.5 MW.

Provincial Assembly

The first meeting of the provincial assembly was held on 5 February 2018 in Biratnagar and was chaired by Om Prakash Sarbagi. Pradeep Kumar Bhandari was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly on 11 February 2018. Saraswoti Pokharel was also elected unopposed to the post of Deputy Speaker on 15 February 2018.

Transportation

Only three districts out of Koshi's fourteen fall in Terai and one district falls in inner Terai. Elevation from the lowest point of Nepal, Kechana (70 m above sea level) to the highest point of world, Everest (8848 m above sea level) lies in this province, so maintaining a consistent road network is challenging, but all districts are connected by road networks. Air services are available. Rail services are under construction.

Roadways

Airways

Many domestic airports and air services are available in the region including one of the most geographically challenging airports, Lukla Airport.

Airports in Koshi:
* Bhojpur Airport ( Bhojpur)
* Biratnagar Airport (Biratnagar)
* Kangel Danda Airport (Kangel, Solukhumbu)
* Man Maya Airport (Khanidanda, Khotang)
* Thamkharka Airport ( Khotang Bazar)
* Lamidanda Airport ( Lamidanda, Khotang)
* Tenzing-Hillary Airport ( Lukla, Solukhumbu)
* Phaplu Airport ( Phaplu, Solukhumbu)
* Rumjatar Airport ( Rumjatar, Okhladhunga)
* Syangboche Airport (Syangboche, Solukhumbu)
* Taplejung Airport ( Taplejung)
* Tumlingtar Airport ( Tumlingtar, Sankhuwasabha)
* Bhadrapur Airport ( Bhadrapur, Jhapa)

Railways

There is a 13 km railway track which has been laid in Nepal by Indian Railways is connected to Bathnaha railway station. Bathnaha is a village situated at Araria district of Bihar state of India. A custom yard station has been built both side of the border on Bathnaha–Katahari railway section. Katahari is at distance of 18 km from Bathnaha Railway Station. Itahari will be further connected with Katahari which is 20 km at distance from Biratnagar (Katahari).

Economy

Koshi has the third largest economy in Nepal, and contributes 15% to the national GDP. Koshi's GDP growth rate was estimated to be 6.5% in fiscal year 2018/19.
Population in absolute poverty in Koshi is 12.4%, and the multidimensional poverty rate is 19.7%.
The major contributors to the economy of Koshi are:

Agriculture

Agriculture accounts for 38% of Koshi's GDP and is the main source of livelihood for 75% of the population.

The province has 714 registered businesses, with agriculture and forestry industry having the highest number registered businesses 114 (15.96%). Koshi contributes 22% of the total paddy production of Nepal and 29.3% of the national maize production.

Sports

Cricket

Koshi province has wide audience and sportsperson in the Province. Also, It has been a pioneer in organising night matches. Inaruwa, sunsari had organised first night cricket in Nepal. Similarly, First night football was organised in Duhabi, Sunsari on 31 March 2018.

The provincial teams take part in various games inside and outside Nepal. The team also comprises men as well as women. The overall sports in province is administered by Province 1 Sports Department.

There are numerous stadium in Koshi are:
* Domalal Rajbanshi Stadium, Birtamode, Jhapa
* Inaruwa Stadium, Inaruwa, Sunsari
* Itahari Regional Stadium, Itahari, Sunsari
* Sahid Rangasala, Biratnagar
* Tharuhat Stadium, Gaighat

Major football cups includes
* Birat Gold Cup Biratnagar
* Jhapa Gold Cup, Jhapa
* Budha Subba Gold Cup, Dharan
* Manmohan Duhabi Gold Cup, Duhabi
* Madan Bhandari Invitational Itahari Gold Cup, Itahari
* Udayapur Gold Cup, Udayapur

Demographics

Total population of the province according to 2021 Nepal census is 4,961,412 comprising 2,544,084 women (51.3%). 95 male per 100 female is the sex ratio. There are 1,191,556 households. 79.7% of the total population are literate. 86.1% of the total population of the male are educated while 73.6% of the total of the female population are literate.

Religion

Hinduism is the major religion of the province. Kirat Mundhum is the second major religion of the province. 67% of the total population are Hindus, 17% are Kirantis, 9% are Buddhists, 4% are Muslims, 2% are Christians and others make up 1%.

Ethnic groups

The province is very ethnically diverse. In 2011, the largest group was Chhetri, making up 14.58% of the population. Followed by Madheshi with (14.26%). Next is Hill Brahmin (11.98%). Other Khas Arya groups are the Kami (3.27%) and Damai (1.78%). The Janajati groups are the Rai (10.21%), Limbu (8.01%), Tamang (4.62%), Magar (4.13%), Newar (3.68%), Sherpa (1.40%) and Gurung (1.36%). Some Terai groups include Tharu (4.10%), Musalman (3.55%), Rajbanshi (2.47%), Musahar (1.35%), Yadav (1.30%) and Santal (1.11%).

As of 2021, Chhetris were the largest ethnic group with 15.0% of the population. Bahun constituted 11.6% of the population, Rai 10.2%, Limbu 7.8%, Tamang 4.6%, Tharu 4.2%, Muslims 4.1%, Magar 4.0% and Newar 3.6%.
The various Madheshi non-Dalit communities were 8.68% of the population, of which the Yadav (1.42%) and Teli (0.98%) were the largest and second-largest non-Dalit communities. Madheshi Dalits were 3.40%, of which Musahar were 1.51%.

Language

Nepali language is lingua franca of the province and is the mother tongue of 45.27% of the population. Maithili is the second-largest language, spoken by 11.68%. 6.70% of the population spoke Limbu, 4.40% Tharu, 3.54% Tamang, 2.88% Magar Dhut, 2.70% Bantawa, 2.58% Rajbanshi, 2.32% Urdu, 1.85% Rai, 1.67% Chamling, 1.32% Sherpa, 1.26% Nepal Bhasha and 1.08% Santali.

The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Limbu and Maithili as official language in the province. The commission has also recommended Tharu, Tamang, Magar, Bantawa, Urdu, Rajbanshi, Nepal Bhasa, Chamling, Sherpa and Santhali to be additional official languages, for specific regions and purposes in the province.

Education

Koshi is very well renowned for its educational facilities; 71.22% of the population of the province can read and write.

Education up to master's level degree is provided by Purbanchal University, which offers courses like Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Institutions like BPKIHS, Birat Medical College Teaching Hospital, Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital, B&C Medical College Teaching Hospital also offer MBBS, BDS courses along with paramedics courses.

Notable people

* Girija Prasad Koirala, former Prime Minister
* KP Sharma Oli, former Prime Minister
* Bidya Devi Bhandari, former President of Nepal
* Rajendra Prasad Lingden, chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party
* Pramod Kharel, singer
* Rachana Rimal, singer
* Nawayug Shrestha, national football player
* Lalit Rajbanshi, national cricket player
* Malvika Subba, Miss Nepal 2002
* Malina Joshi, Miss Nepal 2011
* Manita Devkota, Miss Nepal Universe 2018
* Harka Raj Rai, Independent Mayor of Dharan
* Sabin Rai, Singer
* Siddhicharan Shrestha, Writer
* Kiran Chemjong, Football Player, Captain Nepal national football team
* Dayahang Rai, Actor
* Sanduk Ruit, Ophthalmologist, referred to as the "God of Sight"
*Mahaguru Phalgunanda, leader of the Kirat religion for the Kirat people
* Lhakpa Sherpa, Mountaineer
* Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, Mountaineer
* Mira Rai, Nepalese trail runner and sky runner
* Sushila Karki, Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal and the only woman to have held the post
* Phupu Lhamu Khatri, judoka and Olympian
* Swarup Singh Karki, Dewan (prime minister)
* Nikita Chandak, Miss Nepal 2017
*Sugam Pokharel, Singer
*Girish Khatiwada, rapper, radio, television personality, and vlogger.
* Bipin Karki, Actor
* Sunil Pokharel, Actor

See also

*Provinces of Nepal

References

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States and territories established in 2015