Province No. 1

Province No. 1 प्रदेश न० १
Province
From Top left to right Mt. Everest, Kanchenjunga, Gokyo Lakes, Namche Bazaar, Barun Valley, Ilam, Halesi Mahadev Temple and Tengboche Monastery
Location of Province No. 1 in Nepal
Khotang Solu khumbu Sankhuwa sabha Taplejung Okhal dhunga Udayapur Bhojpur Tehra thum Panch thar Ilam Jhapa Morang Sunsari Dhankuta PN-3 PN-2 China India Province No. 1
Coordinates: 26°27′15″N 87°16′47″E
Country	Nepal
Formation	20 September 2015
Capital city	Biratnagar (Temporary)
Largest city	Biratnagar
Districts	14
Government
• Body	Government of Province No.1
• Governor	Dr. Govinda Subba Limbu
• Chief Minister	Sher Dhan Rai (NCP)
• High Court	Biratnagar High Court
• Legislative	Unicameral (93 seats)
• Parliamentary constituency	28
Area
• Total	25,905 km2 (10,002 sq mi)
Area rank	2nd
Highest elevation	8,848 m (29,029 ft)
Lowest elevation	59 m (194 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	4,534,943
• Rank	3rd
• Density	180/km2 (450/sq mi)
• Density rank	4th
Demonym(s)	Purbeli but Nepali
Time zone	NPT (UTC+5:45)
Geocode	NP-ON
Official language	Nepali (1,953,396 speaks) 43.07%
Other language(s)	Maithili:11.1%, Limbu:7.3%, Tamang:3.9%
HDI	0.553 (medium)
Literacy	73.68%
Sex ratio	91.48 ♂ /100 ♀ (2011)
Website	p1.gov.np

Province No. 1, (proposed name: Koshi / Purbanchal) is one of the provinces established by the new constitution of Nepal which was adopted on 20 September 2015.

As per the CDC (Constituency Delimitation Commission) report, Province No. 1 has 28 parliamentary seats and 56 provincial seats under the first-past-the-post voting system. As per, Cabinet Meeting on 17th Jan 2018, Biratnagar has been declared as the interim capital of Province No. 1. It borders Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, Sikkim province and West Bengal province of India to the east, Province No. 3 and Province No. 2 to the west, and the Bihar province of India to the south.

According to Census 2011, there are around 4.5 million people in the province, with a population density of 175.6 per square kilometer.

History

Further information: Limbuwan; Kirata Kingdom; and Eastern Development Region, Nepal

The Kiratas were the aborigines of the north-eastern Himalayas. According to Baburam Acharya, they came to Nepal in about 700 BC and ruled over it. They were short and had robust bodies, broad cheeks, flat noses, thin whiskers, and dark eyes. They were well trained in the art of warfare, and were very skillful archers. They were the ancestors of the present day Kiratas; Limbu, Yakha, Sunuwar, different types of Rais such as yongyang, sampang etc, Kulung, Thulung and Yellung.

Yalamber the king of the Kiratas defeated Bhuvan Singh, the last king of the Ahir dynasty and established Kirat rule in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. He extended his kingdom as far as the Teesta river in the east and the Trishuli River in the west.

Later Kirata's Kingdom was divided into many principalities and chiefs ruled in eastern Nepal. Limbuwan, Morang Kingdom belonged to them.

King of Gorkha unified all the kirati kingdoms or Principalities in Nepal from 1771 to 1789.

Previously, before establishment of new constitution on 20 September 2015, the area of Province No. 1 was one of the five Development Regions of Nepal which was named Eastern Development Region. It had 16 districts, 14 existing districts of Province No. 1 and 2 districts Siraha and Saptari of Province No. 2. The Eastern Development Region was divided into 3 zones (subdivisions). The zones were: Mechi Zone, Kosi Zone and Sagarmatha Zone. Mechi included 4 districts, Kosi included 6 and Sagarmatha included 6 districts. The total area of The region was 28,456 km².

maximum extent of Limbuwan-Kirat Kingdom in its history 

Five development regions of Nepal including Eastern development region 

Geography

Geographical diversity of Province No. 1

Province No. 1 covers an area of 25,905 km². The Province has three-fold geographical division: Himalayan in the north, Hilly in the middle and Terai in the southern part of Nepal, varying between an altitude of 60 m and 8,848 m. Terai, extended from east to west, is made up of alluvial soil. To the west of Koshi River, in between Mahabharat Range and Churia Range, there elongates a valley called Inner Terai. Churai Range, Mahabharat Range and other hills of various height, basins, tars and valleys form the hilly region. Some parts of this region are favorable for agriculture but some other parts are not. Himalayan region, in the north, consists of many mountains ranges. Mahalangur, Kumbhakarna, Umvek, Lumba Sumba and Janak being some of them. The highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest (8848 m); and the third highest mountain, Kangchenjunga (8598 m) also lie in this Province.

Nepal's lowest point, Kechana Kawal at 58 m, is located in Jhapa district of this Province. There are many river basins and gentle slopes as well. Chure, Mahabharat, many basins, tars and valleys form the Terai region. Between the Churia and Mahabharat a low land of inner Terai exists. The Koshi river flows through the region with its seven tributaries; Indrawati, Likhu, Tamur, Dudh Kosi, Arun, Tamakoshi and Bhote Koshi (Sunkoshi). Tundra vegetables, coniferous forest, deciduous monsoon forests and sub-tropical evergreen woods are vegetations found here. Sub-tropical, temperate, sub-temperate, and alpine and tundra types of climates are found here.

Province No. 1 also includes the snow fall capped peaks including Mt. Everest, Kangchenjunga, Makalu with Solukhumbu, Sankhuwasabha, and Taplejung districts towards the north, the jungle clad hill tracts of Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Bhojpur, Tehrathum, Ilam and Panchthar in the middle and the alluvial fertile plains of Udayapur, Sunsari, Morang and Jhapa. Province 1 includes places like Haleshi Mahadev Temple, Pathivara Temple and Barahachhetra, which are the famous religious shrines for Hindus.

Climate

Climatic conditions of Nepal vary from one place to another in accordance with their geographical features. Province no. 1 has three geographical folds: The low-land of Terai, the hilly region and the highlands of the Himalayas. The low land altitude is 59 m. Whereas the highest point is 8848 m.

In the north summers are cool and winters severe, while in the south summers are tropical and winters are mild. Climatically, the southern belt of Province, the Terai, experiences warm and humid climate. Eastern Nepal receives approximately 2,500 millimeters of rain annually. Province no. 1 has five seasons: spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and winter.

Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in Province No. 1

Location	August (°F)	August (°C)	January (°F)	January (°C)	Annual Precipitation (mm/in)
Dharan	85.1/72.3	29.5/22.4	68.4/44.4	20.2/6.9	1416/55.7
Biratnagar	83.1	28.4	60.8	16	1549.8/61
Bhadrapur	82.2	27.9	61.2	16.2	2351.9/92.6
Dhankuta	76.5	24.7	54.5	12.5	1809.5/71.2
Khandbari	74.8	23.8	52	11.1	2040.7/80.3
Ilam	71.8	22.1	50.9	10.5	2551.5/100.5
Bhojpur	69.1	20.6	46.8	8.2	2290.4/90.2
Khumbu Pasang Lhamu	56.1/38.3	13.4/3.5	33.8/-0.8	1/-18.2	645/25.4

Mountains

Everest and Lhotse from the south. In the foreground are Thamserku, Kantega, and Ama Dablam

South-west (Yalung) face of Kangchenjunga seen from Nepal

Northern part of Province No. 1 has the highest mountain of the world and there are many peaks that are higher. Here is a list of mountains in Province No. 1.

Mountain/Peak	metres	feet	Section	Notes
Mount Everest	8,848	29,029	Khumbu Mahalangur	Earth's highest from sea level
Kanchenjunga	8,586	28,169	Northern Kangchenjunga	3rd highest on Earth
Lhotse	8,516	27,940	Everest Group	4th highest
Makalu	8,463	27,766	Makalu Mahalangur	5th highest
Cho Oyu	8,201	26,906	Khumbu Mahalangur	6th highest
Gyachung Kang	7,952	26,089	Khumbu Mahalangur	between Everest and Cho Oyu
Nuptse	7,861	25,791	Everest Group	319 metres prominence from Lhotse
Jannu	7,711	25,299	Kumbhakarna Kangchenjunga
Kabru	7,412	24,318	Singalila Kangchenjunga
Kirat Chuli	7,365	24,163	Kangchenjunga
Nangpai Gosum	7,350	24,114	Khumbu Mahalangur
Chamlang	7,321	24,019	Barun Mahalangur	#79 in the world
Pumori	7,161	23,494	Khumbu Mahalangur	First ascent 1962
Baruntse	7,129	23,389	Barun Mahalangur	First ascent 1954
Ama Dablam	6,812	22,349	Barun Mahalangur	"Mother and her necklace"
Kangtega	6,782	22,251	Barun Mahalangur	First ascent 1963
Cho Polu	6,735	22,096	Barun Mahalangur	First ascent 1999
Lingtren	6,714	22,028	Khumbu Mahalangur	First ascent 1935
Num Ri	6,677	21,906	Barun Mahalangur	First ascent 2002
Khumbutse	6,640	21,785	Khumbu Mahalangur	First mountain west of Everest
Thamserku	6,623	21,729	Barun Mahalangur	First ascent 1964
Pangboche	6,620	21,719	Kutang Himal
Taboche	6,542	21,463	Khumbu Mahalangur	First ascent 1974
Mera Peak	6,476	21,247	Himalayas	Trekking peak
Cholatse	6,440	21,129	Khumbu Mahalangur	Connected to Taboche
Kusum Kangguru	6,367	20,889	Barun Mahalangur	Trekking peak (difficult)
Ombigaichan	6,340	20,801	Barun Mahalangur
Kongde Ri	6,187	20,299	Barun Mahalangur	Trekking peak (difficult)
Imja Tse	6,160	20,210	Khumbu Mahalangur	Also known as Island Peak. Popular trekking peak.
Lobuche	6,145	20,161	Khumbu Mahalangur	Trekking peak
Nirekha	6,069	19,911	Khumbu Mahalangur	Trekking peak (difficult)
Pokalde	5,806	19,049	Khumbu Mahalangur	Trekking peak (moderate)
Mount Khumbila	5,761	18,901	Mahalangur	Unclimbed
Kala Patthar	5,545	18,192	Khumbu Mah	Popular hiking peak below Pumori
Gokyo Ri	5,357	17,575	Himalayas	Popular hiking peak

South Side: View from Mera Peak

Rivers

There are many rivers in the region which flow towards south from the Himalayas which are tributaries of other large rivers which joins Ganga River (in India). Sapt Koshi or the Koshi is the main river of the region. Seven tributaries join the Koshi so it called Saptkoshi.

The major rivers in the province are:

• Mechi River
• Kankai River
• Koshi River (Sapt Koshi) Below given names are tributaries:
  • Tamor
  • Arun River
  • Sun Koshi
  • Dudh Koshi
  • Likhu Khola
  • Bhote Koshi
  • Indrawati River

Protected Areas

• Sagarmatha National Park – 1,148 km² (443 sq mi) (National Park)
• Makalu Barun National Park – 1,500 km² (580 sq mi) (National Park)
• Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 175 km² (68 sq mi) (Wildlife reserves)
• Kanchenjunga Conservation Area – 2,035 km² (786 sq mi) (Conservation areas)
• Gokyo Lake Complex – 7,770 ha (30.0 sq mi) (Ramsar Sites)
• Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 17,500 ha (68 sq mi) (Ramsar Sites)
• Mai Pokhari – 90 ha (220 acres) (Ramsar Sites)

Subdivisions

There are total 137 local administrative units in this province, in which there is 1 metropolitan city, 2 sub-metropolitan cities, 46 municipalities and 88 rural municipalities.

Districts

The province is made up of the 14 following districts:

1. Bhojpur District
2. Dhankuta District
3. Ilam District
4. Jhapa District

5. Khotang District
6. Morang District
7. Okhaldhunga District
8. Panchthar District

9. Sankhuwasabha District
10. Solukhumbu District
11. Sunsari District
12. Taplejung District

13. Terhathum District
14. Udayapur District

Municipality

Biratnagar

Itahari

Dharan

Mechinagar

Gaighat

Province No. 1 (Province No. 1)

Cities and villages are governed by municipalities in Nepal. A district may have one or more municipalities. Province No. 1 has two types of municipalities.

1. Urban Municipality (Urban Municipality has three levels):
   1. Metropolitan city
   2. Sub-metropolitan city and
   3. Municipality
2. Rural Municipality (Gaunpalika)

The government of Nepal has set out a minimum criteria to meet city and towns. These criteria include a certain population, infrastructure and revenues.

Religion in Province No. 1

  Hinduism (66.63%)

  Kirat Mundhum (17.14%)

  Buddhism (9.20%)

  Islam (3.59%)

  Christianity (1.72%)

  Prakṛti (1.33%)

  Other or not religious (0.39%)

Demographics

According to Census 2011, there are around 4.5 million people in this state, with a density of 175.6 per square kilometer.

The Khas are the largest ethnicity with the native Rai and Limbu not far behind. Rajbanshi people are also native to Jhapa and Morang.The Rai people live in the hills mostly west of the Arun river in districts like Bhojpur, Khotang and also in Solukhumbu, Udayapur with significant rai population and they are also present Ilam across the Arun. The Limbu people inhabit the hills east of the Arun river in districts like Taplejung, Pachthar, Tehrathum. Both Rais and Limbus also live in Dhankuta, Ilam and Sankhuwasabha.The Sherpa people in the mountains mostly in Solukhumbu.The Maithili people and tharu people who ae a minority live in the terai regions of south Sunsari and Biratnagar and east Morang. All ethinic groups can be found in the Terai districts of Morang, Sunsari, Jhapa and Udayapur these districts are more populated and are denser than the hill districts.Tamang and Magar people are also minorities but who mostly live in Dhankuta, Udayapur and Ilam and throughout the plains.

The majority of people follow Hinduism with Muslim communities especially in Sunsari and Morang, Budhhism is also followed mostly by Tamang, Limbus and other Hill people, Christianity is also a growing religion attracting hundreds of people every year. Animist religion is also followed by some Kirati people.

Notable People

Tenzing Norgay, 1953 who was born in Solukhumbu District of Province No. 1

• Tenzing Norgay, the first Mt. Everest climber.
• Sher Dhan Rai, the first Chief minister of Province No. 1
• Jhamak Ghimire, a Nepali writer
• Byakul Maila, lyricist of current Nepalese national anthem
• Narad Muni Thulung Rai,minister of local self-development in the cabinet of Matrika parsad Koirala. He also served as a defence minister and acted as Prime Minister during Matrika P koirala's premiership.He was the first one to initiate and reorganize the freedom movement against the Rana in eastern region od Nepal.
• Ram Prasad Rai, a freedom fighter and a martyr
• Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, Nepal,s first lady climber of Everest

Administration

Further information: Administration in Province No. 1

The first provincial assembly elections in Nepal were held on 26 November and 7 December 2017.

After the results of the recent election in Province No. 1 the biggest party is CPN (UML) which wins 51 seats out of 93 seats and second biggest party is Nepali Congress which wins 21 seats and third biggest party is CPN (Maoist Center) which wins 15 seats in first Provincial Assembly election

There are 56 FPTP and 37 PR seats in Province No. 1

In a meeting on 17 January 2018 government of Nepal finalized the temporary capital of Province No. 1, the meeting also appointed Govinda Subba as the Governor.

Sher Dhan Rai was elected as Chief Minister of Province No. 1 on February 14, 2018. He was a former Minister for Information and Communications. He was appointed as the chief minister, according to Article 168 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal.

Provincial Assembly

Further information: Province No. 1 Legislative Assembly

The first meeting of the provincial assembly was held on 5 February 2018 in Biratnagar and was chaired by Om Prakash Sarbagi. Pradeep Kumar Bhandari was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly on 11 February 2018. Saraswoti Pokharel was also elected unopposed to the post of Deputy Speaker on 15 February 2018.

Party		FPTP	PR	Total
	NCP	46	20	66
	Nepali Congress	8	13	21
	Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal	1	2	3
	Rastriya Prajatantra Party	0	1	1
	Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch	0	1	1
	Independent	1	-	1
Total		56	37	93
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Cabinet

Portfolio	Name	Party
Chief Minister	Sher Dhan Rai	Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
Minister for Internal Affairs and Law	Hikmat Karki	Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
Minister for Social Development	Jivan Ghimire	Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment	Jagadish Kusiyat	Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning	Indra Bahadur Aangbo	Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)

Economy

Chhurpi

Province No. 1 is mainly based on agriculture and tourism. Most of people in Province No. 1 engaged in farming and animal husbandry. Tea, paddy, maize, wheat, potato, millet etc. are main crop in this region.

The three districts Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari of Terai and Udayapur of Inner Terai has fertile land for farming paddy, wheat, sugarcane, maize, millet, jute etc. Farmer of this terai region also produce fruits like mango, litchi and banana.

Tea is main crop in hilly region. Ilam and Jhapa are the main region for production of tea although Panchthar, Dhankuta, Bhojpur and Solukhumbu are the new region being involved in tea farming. Bay leaf, cardamom, different fruits and vegetables also grown in this region. Chhurpi a type of cheese also produce from yak in some hilly and mountainous region of Province No. 1.

Northern mountainous region of Province No. 1 has many highest peaks that attracts tourists from around the world.

Biratnagar is economic capital for Province No. 1. There are many factories established in Biratnagar.

Tourism

Namche Bazaar with Kongde Ri peak in the background.

Eastern Nepal is much more famous than other. It is the one of the tourism place of Nepal. It have beautiful mountains, hills, river, valley, and other famous places. It possesses many more beautiful places which are possibility for tourism development. Every year many of tourists visit this part for different purpose. In this region mountaineering, bungee jumping, rafting, paragliding and other many facilities are provided for tourists.

Trekking goals in eastern Nepal include Makalu Base Camp, an eastern approach to Everest, and the area near Kanchanjangha There is endless variety in this part of the country. Most ethnic groups are represented and many villages, such as Dhankuta, Khandbari and Bhojpur, are large, prosperous and clean. The area has hot, rice-growing districts and also encompasses the cooler tea-growing region of Ilam. The heavily populated Middle Hills are gouged by the mighty Arun River which has cut through at an elevation of less than 400 metres. The Arun is flanked by the major mountain massifs of Kanchenjunga and Makalu. The treks are longer because it requires two weeks to travel from Dharan to the high mountains. Flying to STOL airstrips at Tumlingtar and Taplejung can shorten the time.

Park and Reserve

• Sagarmatha National Park, (Solukhumbu)
• Makalu Barun National Park, (Solukhumbu and Sankhuwasabha)
• Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, (Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur)
• Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, (Sankhuwasabha)
• Gokyo Lake Complex, (Solukhumbu)
• Mai Pokhari, (Ilam)

Hindu Shrines

• Satasi Dham, Arjundhara, (Jhapa)
• Buddha Dham, Maisthan or Mai Pokhari, Larumba, (Ilam)
• Singh Devi, Gupteshwar Mahadev, (Panchthar)
• Pathibhara Devi Temple , (Taplejung)
• Viratkali, (Morang)
• Budha Subba Temple, Barahachhetra , (Sunsari)
• Chhintang Devi, Margsthan, (Dhankuta)
• Singhvahini, (Tehrathum)
• Siddhkali, Manakamna, (Sankhuwasabha)
• Singhkali, Chandisthan, (Bhojpur)
• Chaudandi Devi, (Udayapur)
• Halesi Mahadev Temple, (Khotang)
• Champadevi, (Okhaldhunga)
• Syanboche Gumba, (Solukhumbu)

Location

• Lukla Airport, Solukhumbu
• Namche Bazar, Solukhumbu
• Kanyam, Ilam
• Bhedetar, Sunsari
• Sukhani Danabari, Ilam

Mountains

• Mt. Everest (Highest mountain of the world)
• Kanchenjunga (3rd highest mountain of the world)
• Lhotse (4th highest mountain of the world)
• Makalu (5th highest mountain of the world)
• Cho Oyu (6th highest mountain of the world)

Hiking Peak

• Gokyo Ri
• Kala Patthar

Trekking Peak

• Mera Peak
• Lobuche
• Kusum Kanguru
• Kongde Ri
• Nirekha
• Pokalde
• Mount Khumbila

Transportation

All provinces of Nepal except Province No. 2 have difficult geographic features. Only three districts out of fourteen of Province No. 1 falls in terai and one district falls in inner terai. Other all districts have difficult features, so road networks are not well developed. There is no train facility. Air services are available.

Roadways

Mechi Highway in Kanyam, Ilam

Almost all districts are connected by roads in Province No. 1, although some roads in high altitudes are not paved and conditions of the road worsen during rainy season. In the hills and mountains, the traffic can be very slow due to the difficult terrain and poor road conditions.

Main Highways of Province No. 1 which connects Terai to the high attitude regions.

1. Mechi Highway: 2 lanes highway which is 268 km long connects Jhapa to Taplejung. The main destinations along the highway include Prithivinagar, Bhadrapur, Duhagadhi, Budhabare, Kanyam, and Phikkal.

1. Koshi Highway: 2 lanes of road and 159 km long, starts from Biratnagar and connects Myanglung with it. Itahari, Dharan, Dhankuta, Bhedetar, Hile etc. are the destinations along with highway.

1. Sagarmatha Highway: 2 lanes, 265 km long highway starts from Kadmaha of Province No. 2 and connects Solukhumbu with it. Gaighat, Saune etc. are the destinations along with highway.

Airways

Tenzing-Hillary Airport at Lukla

Many domestic airports and air services are available in the region.

Airports in Provinc No. 1:

1. Bhojpur Airport (Bhojpur)
2. Biratnagar Airport (Biratnagar)
3. Kangel Danda Airport (Kangel, Solukhumbu)
4. Man Maya Airport (Khanidanda, Khotang)
5. Thamkharka Airport (Khotang Bazar)
6. Lamidanda Airport (Lamidanda, Khotang)
7. Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Lukla, Solukhumbu)
8. Phaplu Airport (Phaplu, Solukhumbu)
9. Rumjatar Airport (Rumjatar, Okhladhunga)
10. Syangboche Airport (Syangboche, Solukhumbu)
11. Taplejung Airport (Taplejung)
12. Tumlingtar Airport (Tumlingtar, Sankhuwasabha)
13. Bhadrapur Airport (Bhadrapur, Jhapa)

See also

• List of provinces of Nepal
• List of districts of Nepal
• Administrative divisions of Nepal