Kapilvastu District

Kapilvastu district (Nepali: कपिलवस्तु जिल्ला [ˈkʌpilbʌstu] (listen)), often Kapilbastu, is one of the districts of Lumbini Province, Nepal. The district, with Kapilbastu municipality as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,738 square kilometres (671 sq mi) and in 2001 had a population of 481,976, which increased to 571,936 in 2011. Kapilvastu district has 3 number of seats for central whereas 6 seats for state level elections.

Kapilvastu District

कपिलवस्तु जिल्ला
District
Location of Kapilvastu (dark yellow) in Lumbini Province
Country   Nepal
ProvinceLumbini Province
Government
 • TypeCoordination committee
 • BodyDCC, Kapilvastu
Area
 • Total1,738 km2 (671 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total571,936
 • Density330/km2 (850/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+05:45 (NPT)
Telephone Code076
Main Language(s)Awadhi, Tharu, Urdu, Nepali
Websitewww.ddckapilvastu.gov.np

Geography and climate

The district is situated at a height of 93 to 1,491 metres (305 to 4,892 ft) above sea level.[1] Geographically, the district can be divided into the low land plains of Terai and the low Chure hills.

Kapilvastu is bounded by Rupandehi District to the east, Dang Deukhuri District in Rapti zone to the northwest, Arghakhanchi District to the north, Balrampur district, Awadh region, Uttar Pradesh, India to the west and Siddharthnagar district, Purvanchal region, Uttar Pradesh to the south.

Climate zone[2] Elevation range % of area
Lower Tropical below 300 meters (1,000 ft) 86.8%
Upper Tropical 300 to 1,000 meters
1,000 to 3,300 ft.		 12.0%
Subtropical 1,000 to 2,000 meters
3,300 to 6,600 ft.		  1.2%

The summer is hot with temperature above 27 °C and winter temperature remains below 15 °C. Due to extremely hot and cold climatic conditions, the people suffer from viral fever, dengue , malaria etc and cold and diarrohea respectively.

Demographics

At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Kapilvastu District had a population of 571,936. Of these, 67.6% spoke Awadhi, 17.1% Nepali, 11.3% Tharu, 1.7% Magar and 0.9% Maithili as their first language.[3]

Administration

The district consists of ten municipalities, out of which six are urban municipalities and four are rural municipalities. These are as follows:[4]

Economy

Most of the population of the district is dependent on agriculture. Paddy rice is a major crop of the district. A number of youths rely on foreign employment while sugarcane is an important cash crop.

Crop Production in metric tonnes
Paddy > 150,000
Wheat 25,000-35,000
Sugarcane > 175,000
Oil seed 1,000-5,000
Holi festival celebration in Kapilvastu by Rafik khan (Birta)

Population

In 2011 National population and Housing census 2011 was reported that total population of kapilvastu district was 571,936 . Male=285,599 and Female=286,337 and number of total household was 91,321 Data source: central bureau of statistics, kathmandu government of Nepal .

Culture

Awadhi people are the major inhabitants of this region, which is very rich in their culture. Awadhi cuisine is well known. Most people of the district follow Sanatana culture and majorioty of the population is Hindu. Therefore, festivals such as Vijaya Dashami, Deepawali, Holi, Ram Navami and Naag Panchami are very popular. Shivaratri and the month of Shrawana attract huge crowds in the district capital Taulihawa where ancient Tauleshwar Nath Temple exists. Since Kapilvastu was the kingdom of Bhagwan Buddha, Vaishak Purnima is also celebrated in a grand way. The local population including Tharu celebrate Makar Sankranti (Maghi) with festivity. Tharus live in the northern part of the district.

Places of interest

World Marsh Region

A region with biodiversity, cultural, archaeological and historical monuments that has been proposed to be enlisted in the list of World Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.

Archaeological sites

More than 138 historical sites related to Buddha have already been identified within the boundary to the east of Banganga, west of Kothi, north to Indian border and south to Mahendra highway. The forest of the district stands as a natural park. The land is irrigated by the rivers like Banganga, Koili, Surai, Chirai, Bhutera and others.[1] The latest archaeological excavation carried out under the aegis of the Department of Archaeology (DoA) has discovered that Kapilvastu has the highest number of archaeological sites in the country. The department has identified 136 archaeological sites in the district.[5][6][7][8]

See also

References
  1. http://www.ddckapilvastu.gov.np/DDCKapilvastu/aboutkapilvastu.htm. Retrieved October 7, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. The Map of Potential Vegetation of Nepal - a forestry/agroecological/biodiversity classification system (PDF), Forest & Landscape Development and Environment Series 2-2005 and CFC-TIS Document Series No.110., 2005, ISBN 87-7903-210-9, retrieved November 22, 2013
  3. 2011 Nepal Census, Social Characteristics Tables
  4. "स्थानिय तह" (in Nepali). Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. "Country's largest number of archaeological sites in Kapilvastu". The Himalayan Times. 2018-02-23. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  6. "136 archaeological sites found". The Himalayan Times. 2018-02-24. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  7. "136 archaeological spots uncovered in Kapilvastu". My Republica. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  8. "Kapilvastu home to 136 archaeological sites – NepalTourNews". Retrieved 2019-07-04.

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