# Dharan

Dharan (Nepali: धरान) is a sub-metropolitan city in Sunsari District of Koshi Province, in eastern 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 and Itahari. The Nepali word "dharan" means a saw pit. The rainforest from which the tree trunks came is still just on the edge of the city.
Much later the British Gurkha camp opened in October 1960. The use of the camp by British Gurkhas finished in the mid-1990s. Dharan has an estimated city population of 173,096 living in 34,834 households as per the 2021 Nepal census. It is one of the cities of the Greater Birat Development Area which incorporates the cities of Biratnagar-Itahari-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 Koshi Province 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 in the north with its southern tip touching the edge of the Terai region at an altitude of 1148 ft (349m). Dharan bazaar grew up near Phusre where the old walking route to Dhankuta and a large part of the Eastern hills left the plains with the ascent of Sanghuri Danra. In the days when villagers in the hills made their annual trek to sell and buy goods this was a natural location for a market where hills and Terai met. In 1952 the construction of the Kosi barrage began and a narrow gauge railway was built to take stone from Phusre loaded at a locality now known as "Railway" to the site of the barrage near the Indian Border. The Koshi highway runs through the heart of the city thus connecting it with the provincial capital of Biratnagar as well as the Itahari junction of the east–west Mahendra highway (lying 41 km and 17 km south, respectively), and the Nepal-China border of Kimathanka (lying 115 km north). The road from Biratnagar was originally built and surfaced in connection with the building of Gopher Camp for the British Gurkhas. The road from Dharan to Dhankuta was financed by the UK and largely completed by 1982.

## History

Dharan was the capital town of lowland Limbuwan kingdom of Morang. It was ruled by Limbu King Buddhi Karna Khebang. King Buddhikarna Khebang was the descendant of the ruler King Muray Hang Khebang of Phedap Kingdom . Since 1584 AD till 1774 AD, Dharan-Bijaypur was the capital city of Morang Kingdom of Limbuwan. It was also effective capital of the entire Limbuwan region or Ten Limbu Kingdoms which was also known as Pallo Kirat . Thus, in August 1774, the Gorkha King Prithivi Narayan Shah's representatives Abhiman Singh Basnet, Parath Bhandari, Kirti Singh Khawas and Bali Baniya met the ministers of Morang state and agreed to come to good terms with the Gorkha Kingdom and accept the Gorkhali king as Maharaja and that in return the kingdom of Gorkha would retain the right of self-government of Limbu rulers in their kingdoms.
City, which is connected with the historical importance of Bijaypur started its development since 1985 BS. Then Prime minister Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana established Chandra nagar (now purano bazaar) and primeminister Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana established Juddha nagar (now naya bazaar). City abstracted its name after "Dharan" (nepali word) a rectangular hollow dug under the ground and a low platform upon it for sawing logs with a big saw; one person on the platform and other below it. And, after the establishment of Dharan city, logs used to be widely split up here in "Dharan". It took its present shape when Bijaypur village panchayat and Ghopa village panchayat were merged into Dharan municipality in 2035 BS.

## Demographics

Religion in Dharan (2011) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Kiratism | Kiratism | 50.1% | 50.1% |
| Hindusim | Hindusim | 31.5% | 31.5% |
| Buddhism | Buddhism | 11.4% | 11.4% |
| Christianity | Christianity | 5.1% | 5.1% |
| Others | Others | 1.9% | 1.9% |

### Languages

* Nepali (42.5%)
* Limbu (10.1%)
* Newar (7.4%)
* Rai (5.9%)
* Tamang (5.9%)
* Bantawa (5.8%)
* Others (22.4%)
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, who make (19.4%) of the population, Limbu comes to second with (13.01%), 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.
* Rai 19.4 (19.4%)
* Limbu 13.01 (13.0%)
* Newar 11.1 (11.1%)
* Chhteri 10.7 (10.7%)
* Tamang 7.3 (7.30%)
* Hill Brahman 7.1 (7.10%)
* Kami 6.2 (6.20%)
* Others 25.2 (25.2%)
Broad Caste and Ethnicity category (2011 Census) :
| Broad Ethnic Category | Sub Category | Linguistic Family | Population Percentage |
| Janajati (Hill Ethnic Groups) | Magar, Tamang, Gurung, Sherpa, Rai, Limbu, Yakkha, Sunuwar etc | | 50.5% |
| Khas (Hill/Pahari Caste Groups) | Khas Brahmin, Chhetri, Kami, Damai Sarki, Sanyasi/Dasnami | Indo-Aryan | 27.8% |
| Newar (Kathmandu Valley Caste Groups) | Newari Brahmin, Shrestha, Tamrakar, Newar Buddhist, Maharjan, Rajkarnikar etc | Indo-Aryan And Indigenous people of nepal | 11.1% |
| Madeshi (Terai Caste Groups) | Yadav, Maithil Brahmins, Chamar, Kushwaha, Musahar, Kurmi, Dhanuk etc | Indo-Aryan | 4.5% |
| Marwadi, Bengalis | - | Indo-Aryan | 1.4% |
| Adibasi (Terai Indigenous Groups) | Tharu, Rajbanshi, etc | Indo-Aryan And Indigenous people of Nepal | 1.3% |
| Muslim | - | Indo-Aryan | 1.3% |
| Others | - | - | 2.1% |

## Environment

A study conducted in 2016 to analyze the bacteriological quality of bottled drinking water and that of municipal tap water in Dharan found that one hundred percent of the tap water samples and 87.5% of the bottled water samples were contaminated with heterotrophic bacteria. Of the tap water samples, 55.3% were positive for total coliforms, compared with 25% of the bottled water, but no bottled water samples were positive for fecal coliforms 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 people, 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.
* Pindeshwor Baba Dham: Pindeshwor Mahadev Babadham is the most famous Bolbam Mandir In Nepal. Every Monday in the month of Shrawan, a large number of devotees from different places come barefoot to pay tribute and faith to Lord Shiva with holy water from the Koshi River.
* 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
* Bhatabhungge palace (भताभुङ्गे दरबार)
* Dantakali temple (दन्तकाली मन्दिर)
* Osho park (B.P park)
* Yalambar park (यलम्बर पार्क)
* Green park (हरियाली पार्क)
* Saptarangi Park(सप्तरङ्गी पार्क)
* Sakela park(साकेला पार्क)
* Tara subba Children park
* Langhali park

## 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, Kantipur, Annapurna Post, and Himalayan Times. Several monthly neighborhood papers serve the town.
* Radio: The state-owned Radio Nepal 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 station. Likewise, Dharan has a BFBS Radio Relay station. It broadcasts on FM frequencies.
* Television: Nepal's state-owned television broadcaster, Nepal Television'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

Climate data for Dharan, elevation 310 m (1,020 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1998–2017) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 29.5 (85.1) | 32.7 (90.9) | 36.7 (98.1) | 38.8 (101.8) | 37.5 (99.5) | 37.9 (100.2) | 38.7 (101.7) | 37.4 (99.3) | 35.9 (96.6) | 35.8 (96.4) | 33.0 (91.4) | 29.9 (85.8) | 38.8 (101.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.8 (73.0) | 26.0 (78.8) | 30.4 (86.7) | 32.8 (91.0) | 32.7 (90.9) | 32.4 (90.3) | 31.9 (89.4) | 32.3 (90.1) | 31.9 (89.4) | 31.0 (87.8) | 28.4 (83.1) | 25.0 (77.0) | 29.8 (85.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 17.0 (62.6) | 20.2 (68.4) | 24.2 (75.6) | 27.1 (80.8) | 27.7 (81.9) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.2 (82.8) | 28.5 (83.3) | 27.8 (82.0) | 26.0 (78.8) | 22.7 (72.9) | 19.2 (66.6) | 24.7 (76.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 11.2 (52.2) | 14.3 (57.7) | 17.9 (64.2) | 21.3 (70.3) | 22.7 (72.9) | 24.1 (75.4) | 24.5 (76.1) | 24.6 (76.3) | 23.7 (74.7) | 20.9 (69.6) | 16.9 (62.4) | 13.3 (55.9) | 19.6 (67.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) | 6.6 (43.9) | 7.6 (45.7) | 11.6 (52.9) | 15.2 (59.4) | 18.3 (64.9) | 19.5 (67.1) | 20.2 (68.4) | 19.6 (67.3) | 15.0 (59.0) | 11.2 (52.2) | 5.2 (41.4) | 3.5 (38.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 10.4 (0.41) | 14.2 (0.56) | 29.9 (1.18) | 71.5 (2.81) | 162.3 (6.39) | 317.8 (12.51) | 547.6 (21.56) | 461.0 (18.15) | 344.5 (13.56) | 121.2 (4.77) | 12.7 (0.50) | 3.9 (0.15) | 2,097 (82.6) |
| Source: Department of Hydrology and Meteorology ||||||||||||||

## Notable people

* Bhola Rijal, Doctor and lyricist
* Deep Shrestha, Singer and music composer
* Deepak Limbu, Singer
* Govinda Subba, First governor of Koshi Province
* Hari Nath Bastola, Politician
* Harka Raj Rai, Current mayor of Dharan, social activist, and leader of public mobilization movement.
* Krishna Kumar Rai, Politician
* Malina Joshi, Miss Nepal 2011
* Malvika Subba, Miss Nepal 2002
* Minendra Rijal, Politician & MP
* Prashna Shakya, Singer
* Namrata Shrestha, Actress
* Miruna Magar, Actress
* Raju Kaji Shakya, Former captain of national football team
* Sabin Rai, Singer
* Subin Limbu, Miss Nepal 2014