Chitwan District

Chitwan District (/ˈtʃɪtəˌwʌn/, Nepali: चितवन, [ˈtsit̪ʌwʌn] ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers 2,238.39 km (864.25 sq mi), and in 2011 had a population of 579,984 (279,087 male and 300,897 female) people. Bharatpur is the commercial and service centre of South Central Nepal and a major destination for higher education, health care and transportation in the region. Chitwan lies in the Terai region of Nepal. It is in the drainage basin of the Gandaki River and is roughly triangular, taking that river as its meandering northwestern border, and a modest watershed border, with India, as the basis of its southern limit. Local government: Bharatpur Metropolitan, Rapti Municipality, Ratnanagar Municipality, Kalika Municipality, Khairahani Municipality, Madi Municipality, Ikshyakamana Gaupalika
The district takes its name from the Chitwan Valley, one of Nepal's Inner Terai valleys between the Mahabharat and Siwalik ranges, both considered foothills of the Himalayas.
Chitwan is one of the few remaining undisturbed vestiges of the Terai region, which formerly extended over the foothills of Nepal. It was originally a dense forest with wild animals like leopards and Bengal tigers. It was ruled by Chitrsen Baba and rishis meditated in the forest.
There are several theories on the origin of the name Chitwan:
The people inhabiting the Chitwan District are predominantly peasant farmers cultivating mainly food and cash crops such as rice, maize, wheat, beans, lentils, mustard and Vegetables. The district is the major maize-producing area in Nepal, with an area under maize cultivation of 27,170 ha (104.9 sq mi) in the year 2003–04. Maize is cultivated on irrigated /seasonal irrigated land in winter and spring, and on rain fed land in summer. Because it is easily accessible by good roads, maize produced in the district can be easily distributed to other parts of the country. Poultry is also a significant industry in Chitwan.
Chitwan is famous in Nepal for mustard growing and production of mustard oil. This popularity of the mustard in Chitwan is attributed to the predominant soil type silt, resulting from the flooding of the Narayani River and its tributaries. The land of Chitwan is also spotted with clay, which is very good for growing rice, wheat and vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, radish, potatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, pumpkins, sweet potatoes and carrot. Chitwan is also famous for floriculture, mushroom cultivation and bee keeping.
Chitwan has adopting the South Korean New Community Movement model of development. One of the biggest rice mills in Nepal, Agam Food Industry, is situated in Bharatpur and is a big source of local employment.
Chitwan is known for Taas (Nepali: तास), a spicy fried goat meat dish served with bhuja or chiura. Momo, Bhuteko Bhat (fried rice), and sukuti are other popular dishes. Dal bhat (steamed rice and lentils), is the staple food of the area, though meat and dairy products are also consumed. Other popular cuisines include Newari and Tharu and Thakali and Madheshi. For centuries, traditional fermented foods and beverages have constituted about 20% of the local diet. Depending on altitudinal variation, finger millet, wheat, buckwheat, barley, vegetable, rice, potato, and soybeans etc. are grown.
The Rapti River flows east to the southwest in the south of Bharatpur and forms the northern border of the Chitwan National Park. The Narayani River flows north to south to the west of Bharatpur. It is the deepest and one of the biggest rivers in Nepal. The Narayani Bridge over the river connects Chitwan District with Nawalparasi District of Nepal.
Chitwan is particularly rich in flora and fauna. Nepal's first national park, the Chitwan National Park together with the adjacent Parsa National Park support a diversity of species that is much higher than elsewhere on the Indian subcontinent. Rare species include Bengal tiger, gharial, rhino, leopards, mugger crocodile, Indian rock python and several species of deer. The protected areas are guarded by a battalion of the Nepal Army and patrolled by anti-poaching units. Bishazari Tal ("20 Thousand") Lake is near Chitwan National Park, about 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Bharatpur. The lake is an important bird-watching center.
Krishna Mandir is One of the nice temples of the Hindu religion of Nepal. This is the temple of the god Krishna. There is no statue of the god in this temple. Its interior is made of mirrors all over the wall. The historical event of the god Krishna is shown on the wall. There is one place inside where there is a statue of the god Krishna and his wife.
Bharatpur Airport is the only airport in the region and has flights to and from Kathmandu. Mahendra Highway, the main east–west highway in Nepal, runs through the region and, Prithvi Highway a north–south highway from the border with India to Kathmandu runs through the district. Narayangarh is the main transit point for vehicles travelling via the east–west Mahendra Highway and also for people travelling from Kathmandu, Gorkha, and Pokhara through Mugling.
There are numerous local FM radio stations broadcasting from Bharatpur: Synergy FM, Hamro FM, Radio Triveni, Radio Madi, Radio Chitwan, Radio Kotagiri, Chitwan Online FM, Kalika Music FM, Kalika FM. and Narayani FM. Television channels include Beso Channel, Aviyan Channel, Unique Television and Avass Television. There are multiple private Internet service providers. Fibre connectivity and 4G internet is available in the larger cities.
At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Chitwan District had a population of 579,984. Of these, 70.1% spoke Nepali, 10.2% Tharu, 4.9% Tamang, 3.7% Chepang, 2.8% Gurung, 1.7% Bhojpuri, 1.6% Magar, 1.6% Newari, 1.1% Darai, 0.6% Maithili and 0.5% Hindi as their first language.
Of the population, 27.3% in the district spoke Nepali as their second language.
The district consists of seven municipalities, out of which one is a metropolitan city, five are urban municipalities and one is a rural municipality.
Prior to the restructuring of the district, Chitwan had following gaunpalikas and municipalities.
Chitwan district is known for its hospitals and has many top rated medical institutions, mostly in and around Bharatpur Municipality.Bharatpur is colloquially known as medical city of Nepal. The district is especially known for the B. P. Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital at Krishnapur and two of the reputed medical colleges of the nation;College of Medical Sciences, Bharatpur and Chitwan Medical College. Chitwan ranks only behind the capitalKathmandu, in terms of hospital facilities in Nepal. Medical facilities in the district also include Bharatpur Hospital, a part of the Bharatpur medical college; Chitwan Eye Hospital; Sairam Dental Hospital and Research Center; Maula Kalika Hospital; and Narayani Community Hospital.
Most of the educational institutions in this region provide quality education to the students from Chitwan and neighboring districts too. These schools and colleges focus on the development of skills and knowledge of their students. Among them:
Source: Center for Education and Human Resource Development