Belbari, ( ne, बेलबारी) officially known as Belbari municipality, is one of the major suburb of
Morang district
Morang District ( ne, मोरङ जिल्ला ) is located in Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. It is an Outer Terai district. It borders with Bihar, India to the South, Jhapa to the East, Dhankuta and Panchthar to the North, and Suns ...
,
Province No. 1
Province No. 1 (proposed names: Kirat Autonomous State, Kirat, Limbuwan, Khambuwan Rashtriya Morcha, Nepal, Khambuwan, Mount Everest, Sagarmatha, Virata, Birat and Koshi River, Koshi) is the easternmost of the seven Provinces of Nepal, province ...
. It lies in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. It was officially upgraded to become a municipality in 2014 AD, which is 2070 BS
(Bikram Sambat), which otherwise was a Village Development Committee (VDC) prior to that change. In order to meet the requirements to become a municipality, Belbari VDC merged Kaseni VDC with itself, making it larger in total area. Moreover, in 2017 AD VDC like
Dangihat
Dangihat was a village development committee in Morang District in the Koshi Zone of south-eastern Nepal. It lies west of Bahuni. It consisted of 9 wards. People of different castes lived here, mainly Brahmin, Chhetri, Khawas, Rai, Limbu, and Raj ...
and
Bahuni
Bahuni was a village development committee in Morang District in the Kosi Zone of south-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census
The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statist ...
merged with it to become present Belbari Municipality. Now it have 11 wards offices. It had a population of 81,837 people living in 18,945 households making it the third most populous city in
Morang district
Morang District ( ne, मोरङ जिल्ला ) is located in Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. It is an Outer Terai district. It borders with Bihar, India to the South, Jhapa to the East, Dhankuta and Panchthar to the North, and Suns ...
.
Belbari spreads over an approximate area of 25 square miles. All of the area is plane land, geographically. It is bordered on North and East by the largest and the densest forest of Nepal, the
Charkose Jhadi (English translation: "Four Yard Bush"). It is bounded on the northeast by Charkose Jhadi, while to the east lies another suburb, Laxmimarga and
Kanepokhari Rural Municipality
Kanepokhari Rural Municipality ( ne, कानेपोखरी गाउँपालिका) is a ''Gaunpalika'' (rural municipality) located in the center of Morang District, Province No. 1, Nepal.
Location
The Bayarban, Keroun and Hokla ...
. Similarly, the north part is bounded by
Kerabari Rural Municipality
Kerabari Rural Municipality ( ne, केराबारी गाउँपालिका) is a Gaupalika (rural municipality) located at Morang district. Letang Bhogateni Municipality (Ward no.1), Kerabari, Yangshila, Singhadevi
Singhadevi is ...
and
Letang Municipality
Letang, "लेटाङ " is a Municipality in Morang District in the Province No. 1 of south-eastern Nepal.
It was formed by merging the existing Village Development Committees of Letang, Jante, Warrangi and Bhogateni. This municipality is s ...
, while to the west lie the
Sundar Haraicha Municipality
Sundar Haraicha ( ne, सुन्दर हरैचा) is a municipality in Morang District of Province No. 1 in Nepal. It is centered around Biratchowk town which is the gateway to Biratnagar. It borders Itahari Sub- Metropolitan city to the ...
. As of
2011 Nepal census
Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with the 58 municipalities and the 3915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the municipalities an ...
the total population of Belbari was 24076, which included 5724 households.
[Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). 2014. National Population and Housing Census 2011: Village Development Committee/Municipality, Morang]
Etymology
The name Belbari derived from two different Nepali names "''Bel''" and "''Bari''", i.e. "बेल" र "बारी"= बेलबारी. In English, ''Bel'' is called wood-apple. Elephant apple and monkey fruit are its other name. Its scientific name is Limonia acidissima. ''Bel'' is a native tree of Nepal, and ''Bari'' means a dry land. So as a myth, it is believed among older generations that the name Belbari means "the land of the ''Bel''(s)" (Bel-nai-bel bhayeko thau). Religiously, the ''Bel'' leaves have its own value in Hindu religion for sacred purpose. Especially leaves of ''Bel'' use in the worship, rituals and temples. Basically, for the worship fulpati should be prepared, ''fulpati'' is a variety of mixed flowers along with the leaves of ''Bel'' which is sacred thing for the God and Goddess. Some ethnic people Rai, Limbu and Dhimal also use Bel's leaves in their rituals such as ''dhami/jhark''i (Shamans) of Rais and Limbus, and ''Bhumi Puja'' (worship of the earth) of Dhimals. Today ''Bel'' trees can be found in the ''Charkose Jhadi''.
Early history
There is not exactly known when the people were first inhabited in Belbari. However, since the end of 19th century, the Dhimals were started to settle on this region. Dhimals are one of the first aboriginal inhabitants of this lowland region who speak a Tibeto-Burman language. Not only Belbari but many lowland plain areas of Morang and Jhapa were their ancestral land. Although Dhimals are the first inhabitants of Belbari, there is no any exact literature about their place of origin.
Production and livelihood systems
Belbari municipality is mainly characterized by strong terrain and fertile land, where the larger flatland is compulsorily using for farming system. Due to the dense forest resource, a number of small streams and wetland, for instance Amuna khola, Sisauli Khola and
Betana wetland
Betana wetland or Betana Simar ( ne, बेतना सिमसार) is located in Belbari Municipality of Morang district of Nepal. It lies about 15 km East of Itahari. Geographically, the wetland lies at an altitude of about 123 m. The ...
, are available in this area and those water resources help to the larger flatland for farming system. Paddy, maize, wheat, mustard, varieties of vegetables such as cauliflower, potatoes, ginger, onion are the principal crops grown in this area. Many varieties of paddy are planted in irrigated terraces in two seasons in a single year. In two seasons, during April to September, the fields are using for paddy and maize primarily, farmers are most busy on that period. Although Belbari is semi-urban, most of the people are engaging in agricultural work for their livelihood purpose.
Belbari Municipality is currently divided into 11 Wards.
Local Level Election
Local Level Election 2074
Not available
Local Level Election 2079
References
{{Province No. 1 topics, state=collapsed
Nepal municipalities established in 2014
Municipalities in Province No. 1
Municipalities in Morang District