Location
Jhapa is the easternmost district of Nepal and lies in the fertile
Terai plains. It borders
Ilam district in the north,
Morang district in the west, the Indian state of
Bihar in the south and east, and the Indian state of
West Bengal in the east.
Administration
The district is divided into 47
Village Development Committees (VDC) and three municipalities, namely
Bhadrapur, in the south,
Mechinagar in the east and
Damak in the west. In 2012,
Birtamod was slated for municipality status, however, has not yet been functioning as a municipality . Other major centers are
Dhulabari,
Budhabare,
Surunga,
Charali,
Baniyani,
Kechana,
Patharia,
Balubadi,
Gherabari,
Pathamari,
Prithvinagar,
Halddibari,
Maharanijhora,
Lakhanpur,
Gauradaha,
Topgachhi,
Gauradaha,
Rajgadh,
Ghailadubba,
Charpane,
Laxmipur.
Village Development Committees (VDCs)
Map of the VDCs in Jhapa District
Demography
Much is not known about its early settlements. Scattered and few
small villages used to be in the vast and dense forest area of Jhapa. In
the 60's and early 70's landscape of Jhapa began to change forever as
people from the hills came there to own and cultivate the land under the
'resettlement program'. Eradication of malaria helped change its old
name and perception of 'kalapani' into an attractive and fertile place.
Fertile land, beautiful landscape, proximity to Nepali speaking part of
India, attracted many people there for settlement.No indigenous
ethnicity are known to have settled there. Small number of
Rajbansi
population and some other even smaller in numbers were found to have
lived there before the mass migration from various parts of the country
and North-eastern part of India and Burma. Jhapa is home to many
indigenous ethnic nationalities such as the
rajbanshi people,
Gangai (ethnic group)|Tajpuriya ]], and
Dhimal . Other ethnic groups such as
Dhangad,
Koche,
Satar,
Meche,
Tamang,
Uraon,
Magar,
Gurung,
Gangain and many others came to Jhapa in the late 19th century, so did the Hill/mountain castes
Bahun,
Chhettri, and
Newar.
Jhapa is diverse and rich in culture and traditions due to the
influences of its different tribes. All the tribes/ethnic groups have
their own languages, customs and traditions, and they celebrate their
festivals every year.
Climate and geography
Jhapa receives 250 to 300 cm of rainfall a year, and mostly during the
monsoon season in the summer, and its hilly northern area receives more rainfall than the south. Its major rivers, like the
Mechi River,
Kankai Mai,
Ratuwa,
Biring,
Deuniya,(Aduwa), (Bhuteni), (
Dhangri),
Hadiya, and
Ninda,Krishne Khola, Gauriya, Ramchandre etc. provide water for
irrigation. Due to its
alluvial soil best suited for agriculture, Jhapa has been the largest producer of
rice and is therefore known as the Grain Grocery of Nepal
[citation needed]. Besides cereal crops like rice and
wheat, it is also one of the largest producers of
jute,
tea,
betel nut,
rubber and other cash crops.
Jhapa also has vast areas of forests, such as
Deonia,
Charali,
Charkose Jhaadi,
Hadiya,
Sukhani,
Jalthal,
and others. Its name itself is derived from the Rajbanshi word "jhapa"
meaning "canopy", which suggests that the area was a dense forest in the
past. It was once such a dense and dangerous forest that it was called
Kaalapaani and prisoners were sent here to die of
malaria and other diseases in the jungle.
Attractions and sites
Jhapa also has several religious and historical sites of great importance like
Kankai Mai,
Kichakbadh,
Satasidham,
Arjundhara,
Chillagadh,
Biratpokhar, and
Krishnathumki among others. It is believed that
Pandu's son
Bhim had killed
Kichak in Kichakbadh (near Kechana in the south border) in the time of the
Mahabharata
and a great festival is observed on that day every year. There is also
the historical fort of Chandragadh which gave its name to Chandragadhi.
Other sites too have their own religious and historical values. It is
also the gateway to
Darjeeling and
Sikkim and the rest of north-east India from
Nepal.
Recently, Jhapa is gaining popularity in the medical field especially
in eye treatment. Each day hundreds of patient from adjoining distract
of Nepal and India visits
Mechi Eye Hospital for eye treatment.The other major centers of attractions are Jhamunkhadi Simsar Tourism Area in Surunga and Domukha as well.
Development
Jhapa is one of the most developed districts of the country. Almost
all the villages and towns are linked by roads. There are schools and
colleges in many parts of the district. There is also an airport and a
hospital in Chandragadhi. It has the highest literacy rate in the
country after Kathmandu, Kaski and Chitwan districts. Airport is
domestic and you can get regular flights from Kathmandu to Chadragadi to
Kathmandu. It takes one hour flight. There is a hundred bedded Zonal
hospital. It has different departments as Medicine, Surgery, Gynaecology
& obstetrics, Paediatrics, and the 24 hours emergency facilities.
AMDA Hospital Damak,established in 1992 as AMDA referral center of
15-bed capacity with the help of AMDA International, and Damak
Municipality. There are some private hospitals like Life Line
Hospital,Damak, Mechi Model Hospital & Research Center
Pvt.Ltd.Birtamod etc. The government hospital also provides the plastic
surgery services occasionally.
Education
Jhapa has a literacy rate of 66.93
[2]
percent. Chulla Chulli English Boarding School and Little Flowers
School are some of the best schools in the country. There are also some
good private schools like
East Horizon English School,
Suryodaya English School, Siddhartha Boarding School, Newtons Education
Academy, Shree Pashupati Secondary School, Balmiki Academy,
Gyanjyoti Higher Secondary School,
Dipjan English Boarding School, Divya Jyoti Secondary School,
Purwanchal Academy etc. The number of Colleges providing opportunity of
higher studies has been increasing in Jhapa.
Mechi Multiple Campus Bhadrapur and
Damak Multiple Campus are the wings of
Tribhuvan University.
Kankai Adarsh Campus Birtamode, College for Higher Education (COHED)
and Kanakai Multiple Campus Surunga are the other main Colleges
Providing higher education up to Master's Degree in Management,
Education and Humanities Stream.
Role in national politics
It plays the main role in national politics. The Communist revolution
was started from the Jhapa, which led to formation of one the most
prominent party of nation CPN-UML. Many national political figures are
from Jhapa such as Late C.K. Prasai(Bharat Babu),
R.K Mainali,
K.P Oli, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Chakra Bastola,Late Gauri Shankar Khadka,
C.P Mainali.
Recently during JanaAndolan 2063 (April Revolution) Jhapa played a
significant role in the agitation against Royal takeover. Around 5
peoples were killed by the Royal Army in Bhadrapur and many more deaths
weren't disclosed.
Agriculture and industry
Jhapa is also famous for
microcredit
development. The Small Farmer Development Programme (SFDP) was the
first rural and micro-financing program in Jhapa. The Agricultural
Development Bank started this Small Farmer Development Programm in 1988.
It started in a few VDCs and spread. After lifted many people out of
poverty, the SFDP was handed over to the local people and the new
institution was named Small Farmer Cooperative Ltd (SFCL). There are
currently 13 SFCLs in Jhapa, each of which covers a single VDC.
It is one of the major districts for the Production of Tea and Rice.
Budhabare situated on the northern side of the Mahendra Highway is one
of the most fertile lands of Nepal. Jhapa as a district is also popular
for the bittle nuts (Supari). Several large Tea Estate are also located
in Jhapa.
Giri Bandhu Tea Estate, Burne tea state, Tokla Tea Estate,Himalaya Tea State,Damak, Sattighatta Tea Estate are the Major ones.
Jhapa has been equipped with different sorts of communication medium.
The internet provided by different ISP link Jhapa with the rest of the
world.
References