Province No. 2

Province No. 2 (proposed names: Madhes or Mithila/Bhojpura)[2] (Nepali/Maithili: प्रदेश नं० २) is a province in the southeastern region of Nepal that was formed after the adoption of the Constitution of Nepal. It is Nepal's second most populous province,[3] and smallest province by area. It borders Province No. 1 to the east, Bagmati Pradesh to the north, and India to the south. It has an area of 9,661 km2 (3,730 sq mi)-about 6.5% of the country's total area. It has a population of 5,404,145 as per the 2011 Census of Nepal, making it the most densely populated province of Nepal.[4]

Province No. 2

प्रदेश नं० २
Province
Location of Province No. 2
Map of Province No. 2, Nepal
Country   Nepal
Formation20 September 2015
CapitalJanakpur
Largest cityBirgunj
Districts8
Government
 • BodyGovernment of Province No. 2
 • GovernorTilak Pariyar[1]
 • Chief MinisterMohammad Lalbabu Raut (SPN)
 • High CourtJanakpur High Court
 • Provincial AssemblyUnicameral (107 seats)
 • Parliamentary constituency32
Area
 • Total9,661 km2 (3,730 sq mi)
Area rank7th
Population
 (2020)
 • Total6,158,649
 • Rank2nd
 • Density640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
 • Density rank1st
Demonym(s)Nepalese
Time zoneUTC+5:45 (NST)
Area code(s)041
Official languageNepali (under Constitution of Nepal)
Other language(s)1. Maithili
2. Bhojpuri
3. Bajjika
HDI0.512 (low)
Literacy56.54%
Sex ratio101.18 ♂ /100 ♀ (2011)
Websitehttp://p2.gov.np

The Koshi River and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve acts as provincial demarcation border between Province No. 2 and Province No. 1 in the east. And the demarcation line between Chitwan National Park and Parsa National Park (previously Wildlife Reserve) acts as provincial demarcation border between Province No. 2 and Bagmati Pradesh in the west.

The province includes eight districts from Saptari District in the east to Parsa District in the west. The majority of the province's population speaks Maithili, Bhojpuri, Bajjika and Nepali.[4]

The Capital city, a sub-metropolitan city of Janakpur, also known as Janakpurdham,[5] is a centre for religious and cultural tourism.[6] It is also thought to have been the capital of the Videha dynasty that ruled Mithila region in ancient times.[5]

The first urban planned municipality of Nepal, Rajbiraj, is also the oldest municipality of the Terai belt of Nepal.[7][8] The town is believed to have been named after the ancient Rajdevi temple, which dates back to the 1700s. The metropolitan city of Birgunj is an economically important industrial centre and the only metropolitan city in the province.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

As per a 17 January 2018 cabinet meeting, Janakpur has been declared as the interim capital of Province No. 2.[15] Mohammad Lalbabu Raut Gaddhi is the current Chief Minister.[16][17]

Geography

The region is surrounded by:[18]

As per Central Bureau of Statistics(CBS)[19] the province covers about 9,661 km2 (3,730 sq mi). of Nepal's total area of 147,516 km2 (56,956 sq mi). with total number of 5,404,145 inhabitants, it is the second most populous province in Nepal after Bagmati.[3][20]

The province is located on flat plains of Terai, and Chure (Churiya) or the Shiwalik Hills are the natural border of the province which falls in northern side. The southern side has an international border with the India. Koshi River on its eastern side acting as a natural border with Province No. 1. Province No. 2 has eight districts in a series (parallel). Koshi River, Bagmati River, Kamla River, Lakhandei River and Bishnumati River are the main rivers of the province.

Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in Province No. 2[21]
Location August

(°F)

 August

(°C)

 January

(°F)

 January

(°C)

 Annual

Precipitation (mm/in)

Gaur 91/77.9 23/9.1 73.4/48.4 32.8/25.5 1590.2/62.6
Siraha 89.6/76.3 32/24.6 72.1/47.3 22.3/8.5 1293.1/50.9
Birgunj 84.7 29.3 60.8 16 1862.2/73.3
Jaleshwar 84.4 29.1 61.2 16.2 1492.9/58.8
Malangwa 84.4 29.1 60.8 16 1817.7/71.6
Janakpur 84.2 29 60.8 16 1516.5/59.7
Rajbiraj 83.3 28.5 60.4 15.8 1223.3/48.2
Lahan 83.3 28.5 60.3 15.7 1231.4/48.5


Government and Administration
Main articles: Government of Province No. 2 and Provincial Assembly of Province No. 2

The Governor acts as the head of the province while the Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government. The Chief Judge of the Janakpur High Court is the head of the judiciary.[22] The present Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Judge are Tilak Pariyar (governor), Mohammad Lalbabu Raut (chief minister) and Udaya Prakash Chapagain.[23][24] The province has 107 provincial assembly constituencies and 32 House of Representative constituencies.[25]

Province No. 2 has a unicameral legislature, like all of the other provinces in Nepal. The term length of provincial assembly is five years. The Provincial Assembly of Province No. 2 is temporarily housed at the District Education Office in Janakpur.[26]

Administrative subdivisions
See also: Districts of nepal, List of cities in Nepal, and List of gaupalikas of Nepal

Province No. 2 is divided into eight districts, which are listed below. A district is administrated by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further dived to municipalities or rural municipalities. The municipalities include one metropolitan city, three sub-metropolitan cities and 73 municipalities. There are 59 rural municipalities in the province.[27]

Name Headquarters Population (2011)
Parsa District Birgunj 601,017
Bara District Kalaiya 687,708
Rautahat District Gaur 686,722
Sarlahi District Malangawa 769,729
Siraha District Siraha 637,328
Dhanusha District Janakpur 754,777
Saptari District Rajbiraj 639,284
Mahottari District Jaleshwar 627,580

Demographics

According to the 2011 Nepal Census, Province No. 2 has a population of 5,391,349: 2,706,078 males and 2,685,271 females. The province has the second highest population in the country having 20.35%, and is the densest province in the country with a density of 640 people per square kilometer.[28]

Languages in Province No. 2

  Maithili (45.36%)
  Bhojpuri (18.59%)
  Bajjika (14.68%)
  Nepali (6.56%)
  Urdu (5.87%)
  Tharu (3.77%)
  Tamang (1.94%)
  Others (3.23%)

Ethnic groups in Province No. 2

  Yadav (14.80%)
  Musalman (11.59%)
  Tharu (5.27%)
  Teli (5.10%)
  Koiri (4.56%)
  Chamar (4.22%)
  Other Madhesi (43.01%)
  Khas Arya (5.74%)
  Non-Madhesi Janajati (5.43%)
  Others (0.28%)

Ethnic groups

Madhesi is the largest ethno-linguistic group in the province. Yadav is the largest group among the Madhesis in the province making up around 14.80% of the population. Musalmans are the second largest group making up 11.59% of the population. Teli (5.10%), Koiri/Kushwaha (4.56%), Chamar (4.22%), Dhanuk (3.49%), Musahar (3.02%), Kurmi (2.83%), Dusadh/Paswan (2.79%), Mallaah (2.26%) and Kanu (2.16%) are other Madhesi groups in the province.[28]

Hill Brahmans and Chhetris are the largest Khas Arya group in the province making up 2.34% and 1.99% of the population respectively. Tharu (5.27%) is the largest non-Madhesi, non-Khas Arya group followed by Tamang (2.17%).[28]

Languages

Maithili is spoken as the mother tongue by 45.36% of the population in the province. Bhojpuri and Bajjika are spoken by 18.59% and 14.68% of the population. Despite being the official language of the province Nepali is spoken as their mother tongue by only 6.56% of the population. Urdu (5.88%), Tharu (3.77%) and Tamang (1.94%) are other languages spoken in the province by a significant minority population.[28]

Religion

Hinduism is the most followed religion in the province being followed by 84.75% of the population. Islam is the second largest religion with 11.55% of the population being Muslims and Buddhism is followed by 3.01% of the population.[28]

Infrastructure

Transport

Province No. 2 has no difficult terrains still the transportation has not been well developed in the region due to lack of investments and negligence. However Province 2 is the only province with passenger serviceable railway line in Nepal.

The only passenger train service of Nepal in Janakpur


Roadways

The major connecting link for the province is the Mahendra Highway (East West Highway) which runs longitudinally across the province. All major cities of the province remain disconnected from this highway. Janakpurdham, Rajbiraj , Birgunj and Gaur lie 25,10, 24 and 42 kilometres south of the Mahendra Highway, respectively.[29] The Tribhuvan Highway does not cross as much of the province as the Mahendra Highway, but it is most important link as it connects the province to Kathmandu and to the India.[30] The starting point of Tribhuvan Highway i.e. Birgunj is the most important International Gateway and trade way for this province and entire country and hence known as "The Gateway of Nepal". In terms of revenue generation, Birgunj custom point is the largest. Birendra highway which is connected to Mahendra highway from Headquarter of Rautahat district Gaur to the Chandranigahapur (largest city of Rautahat). which is 42 km in length.

  • Mahendra Highway (East West Highway) - Part
  • Postal Highway - Part
  • Tribhuvan Highway - Part
  • Birendra Highway - part

Railways
Main article: Nepal Railways
Janakpur Train Station is the largest Railway Station in Nepal

A few other railway projects are under progress in the province no. 2. All these projects are of Nepal Railways. Government of Nepal has proposed Janakpur as a Main Station for 1024 km east-west Metro Railway project and further be extended to India and China for connecting Nepal Railways with Indian Railways and China Railway for business and tourism promotion.[31]

Domestic Airports: Province No. 2 has three domestic airports in use which are the busiest among the country.

International Airport:

See also

References
  1. "Who is who: These are new governors of Nepal's seven provinces – OnlineKhabar". Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  2. Yadav, S. (2018). "Province 2 struggles to reach consensus on its name". Nepal Republic Media Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  3. Law, G. (2015). "Provinces of Nepal". statoids.com. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  4. "National Population and Housing Census 2011" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. Burghart, R. (1978). The disappearance and reappearance of Janakpur. Kailash: A Journal of Himalayan Studies 6 (4): 257–284.
  6. Rastriya Samachar Samiti (2004). "More Indian tourists visit Janakpurdham". Himalayan Times, 17 January 2004.
  7. "राजविराज नगरपालिका, नगर कार्यपालिकाकाे कार्यालय | प्रदेश नं. २, नेपाल सरकार". www.rajbirajmun.gov.np (in Nepali). Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  8. "Rajbiraj revisited − Nepali Times". nepalitimes.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  9. "Birgunj Metropolitan City official Website". birgunjmun.gov.np.
  10. "Biratnagar, Birgunj promoted to Metropolitan Cities". The Himalayan Times. 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  11. "Possible headquarters of states". onlinekhabar.com.
  12. "Where will Province Chief live?". Naya Patrika Nepal's National News. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  13. "Possible Province headquarters". BroadNepal News Bnn.
  14. "कुन प्रदेशको राजधानी कहाँ ?". Himalayan Kangaroo.
  15. "Places proposed for temporary capitals of all seven provinces - News, sport and opinion from the Kathmandu Tribune's global edition". News, sport and opinion from the Kathmandu Tribune's global edition. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  16. "Raut appointed Chief Minister of province-2 - News, sport and opinion from the Kathmandu Tribune's global edition". News, sport and opinion from the Kathmandu Tribune's global edition. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  17. "Lalbabu Raut to be sworn in Province 2 CM today". The Himalayan Times. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  18. "Big 3 draw new 7-province map". Republica. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  19. "Statistical Year Book 2015 by CBS Nepal". Central Bureau of Statistics(CBS). Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  20. "The population of the provinces of Nepal according to census results and latest official projections". City Population. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  21. "Nepal Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  22. "High Courts get their chief judges". Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  23. "Lalbabu Raut appointed as Chief Minister of Province-2". My Republica. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  24. "President of Nepal administers oath to Chiefs of seven provinces | DD News". ddnews.gov.in. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  25. "CDC creates 495 constituencies". The Himalayan Times. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  26. "First Provincial Assembly meeting begins in 4 provinces". Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  27. "स्थानिय तह". 103.69.124.141. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  28. "Natioanl Data Portal-Nepal". nationaldata.gov.np. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  29. Reed, David (2002). The Rough Guide to Nepal. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781858288994.
  30. Highways in Nepal Archived 26 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  31. "Nepal,India agree on five rail projects". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2017.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.