Dharan ( ne, धरान) a sub-metropolitan city in
Sunsari District
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, image_caption = Night view of Dharan, Itahari & Tarahara :: Barahakshetra Temple: BPKIHS, Dharan :Dharan Clock Tower
, image_map = Sunsari district loc ...
of
Province No. 1, Nepal, which was established as a fourth municipality in the Kingdom in 1958. It is the
third most populous city in Eastern Nepal after
Biratnagar
Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the pr ...
and
Itahari
Itahari ( ne, ईटहरी) is a sub-metropolitan city in the Sunsari District of Province No. 1 of Nepal. Itahari city is business hub of eastern Nepal. It is the second most populous city in Eastern Nepal after Biratnagar. Situated at a di ...
. Dharan is the location of the former Vijayapur, the seat of a historical
Limbuwan
Limbuwan is an area of the Himalayan region historically made up of 10 Limbu kingdoms, now part of eastern Nepal. Limbuwan means "abode of the Limbus" or "Land of the Limbus".
In modern times, a political movement in Nepal has developed which ...
kingdom, which was later used by the Sen kings of
Makwanpur
Makwanpur District( ne, मकवानपुर जिल्ला; , a part of Bagmati Province, earlier a part of Narayani Zone, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Hetauda as its district headquarter, as well ...
. Dharan has an estimated city population of 173,096 living in 34,834 households as per
2021 Nepal census. It is one of the cities of the ''Greater Birat Development Area'' which incorporates the cities of
Biratnagar
Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the pr ...
-
Itahari
Itahari ( ne, ईटहरी) is a sub-metropolitan city in the Sunsari District of Province No. 1 of Nepal. Itahari city is business hub of eastern Nepal. It is the second most populous city in Eastern Nepal after Biratnagar. Situated at a di ...
-Gothgau-
Biratchowk-Dharan primarily located on the
Koshi Highway in Eastern Nepal, with an estimated total urban agglomerated population of 804,300 people living in 159,332 households. It is the largest city in the province number one by Area. It covers 192.32 square kilometers while Biratnagar and Itahari is 2nd and 3rd biggest cities by Area
Geography
Dharan is situated on the foothills of the
Mahabharat Range
The Lower Himalayan Range ( ne, पर्वत शृङ्खला parbat shrinkhalā) – also called the Middle Himalayas or Lesser Himalayas or Himachal – is a major east–west mountain range with elevations 3,700 to 4,500 m (12,000 to ...
in the north with its southern tip touching the edge of the
Terai
, image =Terai nepal.jpg
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, caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal
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, biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm
, global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...
region at an altitude of 1148 ft (349m). The
Koshi highway runs through the heart of the city thus connecting it with the provincial capital of
Biratnagar
Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the pr ...
as well as the
Itahari
Itahari ( ne, ईटहरी) is a sub-metropolitan city in the Sunsari District of Province No. 1 of Nepal. Itahari city is business hub of eastern Nepal. It is the second most populous city in Eastern Nepal after Biratnagar. Situated at a di ...
junction of the east–west
Mahendra highway
Mahendra Highway (), also called East-West Highway () runs across the Terai geographical region of Nepal, from Mechinagar in the east to Bhim Datta in the west, cutting across the entire width of the country. It is the longest highway in Nepal ...
(lying 41 km and 17 km south, respectively), and the Nepal-China border of
Kimathanka
Kimathanka is a Village (previously, a village development committee) in Bhotkhola rural municipality of Sankhuwasabha District of Province No. 1, Nepal and serves as the Nepalese counterpart of the Nepal-China (Tibet autonomous region) border ...
(lying 115 km north).
Demographics
Languages
At the time of the 2011 Census of Nepal, 42.5% of the population in the city spoke Nepali, 10.1% Limbu, 7.4% Newar, 5.9% Rai, 5.9% Tamang, 5.8% Bantawa, and 22.4% spoke other smaller languages as their first language.
Caste And Ethnic groups
The largest single caste/ethnic in Dharan is Rai People, Rai, who makes (20.7%) of the population, Limbu comes to second with (11.7%), Newar makes (11.1%) of population Chhetri (10.7%), Tamang (7.3%), Hill Brahmin (7.1%), Kami (6.2%) and other various ethnic groups makes (25.2%) Of the population.
Environment
A study conducted in 2016 to analyze the
bacteriological quality of
bottled drinking water and that of municipal
tap water
Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...
in Dharan found that one hundred percent of the tap water samples and 87.5% of the bottled water samples were contaminated with
heterotrophic
A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
. Of the tap water samples, 55.3% were positive for total
coliforms
Coliform bacteria are defined as either motile or non-motile Gram-negative non-Endospore, spore forming Bacillus (shape), Bacilli that possess Beta-galactosidase, β-galactosidase to produce acids and gases under their optimal growth temperature o ...
, compared with 25% of the bottled water, but no bottled water samples were positive for
fecal coliform
A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...
s and fecal
streptococci, in contrast to 21.1% and 14.5% of the tap water samples being contaminated with fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci, respectively. One hundred percent of the tap water samples and 54.2% of the bottled water samples had
pH in the acceptable range.
Tourist attractions
*
Budha Subba: As an important and unique religious site to Nepali Hindus, this temple holds immense cultural significance to the people of Dharan. Budha Subba temple is located a top the Bijaypur hills and the surrounding area is highly scenic. This temple holds historic significance because it is the
tomb
A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...
of the last
Limbu King, Buddhi Karnaraya Khebang.
* Gurkha Memorial Park: This park was established "to preserve the legacy of Brigade of Gurkhas in Dharan for posterity before it is forgotten and lost forever", as many Nepalese men, many of whom were residents of Dharan, joined the Brigade of Gurkhas.
*
Dharan Clock Tower
Media and communication
*Newspapers: The people of Dharan are served by several daily local newspapers and national newspapers. There are 11 local newspapers in total. These include ''The Blast Times'' and ''The Morning Times''. National newspapers are also provided to the people of Dharan on a daily basis. National newspapers include ''
The Kathmandu Post
''The Kathmandu Post'' is a major daily newspaper published in Nepal. Founded in February 1993 by Shyam Goenka, it is one of the largest English-language newspapers in the country. The newspaper is independently owned and published by Kantipu ...
'', ''
Kantipur
Kantipur (from kanti ''light'', pur ''city'') was a medieval kingdom in the Malla confederacy of Nepal. The name of the kingdom was derived from the Sanskrit name of its capital city, now known as Kathmandu.
History
The kingdom started after ...
'', ''Annapurna Post'',
and ''
Himalayan Times''. Several monthly neighborhood papers serve the town.
*Radio: The state-owned
Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal ( ne, रेडियो नेपाल) is the state-owned Radio broadcasting organisation of Nepal. It was established 2 April 1951. Radio Nepal airs programs on short wave, medium wave ( AM) and FM frequencies.
Regular broadcasts ...
is broadcast on the medium wave on 648 kHz in the city. Five private local FM stations are available. They are Star FM - 95.6 MHz,
Vijayapur FM - 98.8 MHz, Dantakali FM - 88.5 MHz, and
Radio Dharan FM - 88.8 MHz. Radio Ganatantra FM 95.1 MHz is a
community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...
station. Likewise, Dharan has a
BFBS Radio Relay station. It broadcasts on FM frequencies.
*Television: Nepal's state-owned television broadcaster,
Nepal Television
Nepal Television ( ne, नेपाल टेलिभिजन), shortened to NTV is the Nepalese national public state-controlled television broadcaster. It is the oldest and most watched television channel in Nepal. The news broadcast at 8:0 ...
's relay station is present near its border, which provides two free-to-air terrestrial channels. A mix of Nepali, Hindi, English, and other international channels are accessible via
cable subscription and
direct-broadcast satellite services. Dharan Cable Network broadcasts Kriti Television Channel as a local television channel that covers events in the city.
Climate
Notable people
*
Bhola Rijal
Bhola Rijal is a consultant Gynaecologist, Obstetrician and litterateur of Nepal. He has expertise in In-vitro fertilization
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glas ...
, Doctor and lyricist
*
Deep Shrestha, Singer and music composer
*
Deepak Limbu, Singer
*
Dhiraj Rai
Dhiraj Rai ( ne, धीरज राई) also known as ''Stage King'' is a singer, musician and songwriter from Khotang, Nepal. Rai's first recorded song is ‘Luki Luki’.
Career
Rai started his career in 1990. Generally, his songs are based ...
, Singer
*
Govinda Subba, First governor of province no. 1 (Nepal)
*
Hari Nath Bastola, Politician
*
Harka Raj Rai
Harka Raj Sampang Rai (or Harka Sampang; ) is a Nepalese politician and the current mayor of Dharan. Rai is also a social activist. He has been elected as an independent candidate for the post Mayor, having 'Walking stick/Lauro' as the electoral ...
, Current
mayor of Dharan, social activist, and leader of public mobilization movement.
*
Krishna Kumar Rai, Politician
*
Malina Joshi
Malina Joshi ( ne, मलिना जोशी) (born 27 January 1989) is a Nepali actress and Miss Nepal 2011. Joshi won the coveted title, beating Gurung, when she delivered an impressive answer about women's dominance to the judges, that se ...
,
Miss Nepal 2011
Hidden Treasures Miss Nepal 2011, the 17th Miss Nepal beauty pageant was held on the August 30, 2011, at the Tribhuvan Army Club in Kathmandu. The new main sponsor for the event Dabur Nepal was Lux. This year, 19 young women aged 19 years and abo ...
*
Malvika Subba
Malvika Subba (Limbu) ( ne, माल्बिका सुब्बा (लिम्बु)) is a Nepalese media personality, beauty queen, actress, television host, social activist and entrepreneur. She graduated from Pokhara University with M ...
,
Miss Nepal 2002
The 8th Miss Nepal Pageant for 2002 was held at the Birendra International Convention Centre. There were protests by Feminism, pro-women activists.
Malvika Subba was crowned Miss Nepal 2002 on December 7, 2002 at Birendra International Conventio ...
*
Minendra Rijal
Minendra Rijal ( ne, मिनेन्द्र रिजाल) is a Nepali politician and former Defence Minister of Nepal. He is also member of the House of Representatives.
Political career
He is a former member of Nepali Congress part ...
, Politician & MP
*
Namrata Shrestha
Namrata Shrestha is a Nepalese actress and model.
Since debuting in Alok Nembang's Sano Sansar in 2008, Shrestha has gone on to appear in a number of commercial Nepali-language films as a sought-after model and actor.
Career
In 2008, Shrest ...
, Actress
*
Raju Kaji Shakya, Former captain of national football team
*
Sabin Rai
Sabin Rai ( ne, सबिन राई) is a Nepali singer and lyricist who is called as the Bryan Adams of Nepal because of the voice. His first successful single was "Komal Tyo Timro" from the album ''Sataha''. Although his song "Ekai Aakash ...
, Singer
*
Subin Limbu,
Miss Nepal 2014
Hidden Treasures Fanta Miss Nepal 2014, the 17th Miss Nepal beauty pageant was held on 2 May 2014 at the Nepal Academy Hall in Kathmandu. Miss Nepal 2013 Ishani Shrestha crowned her successor as Miss Nepal World 2014, who will represent Nepal at ...
See also
*
List of educational institutions in Dharan
*
2022 Dharan municipal election
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Sunsari District
Sunsari District
Municipalities in Province No. 1
Nepal municipalities established in 1962
Submetropolitan municipalities of Nepal
Municipalities in Sunsari District