dharan

dharan

history

Thursday 9 September 2010

about dharan

Dharan (Nepaliधरान) is a major city in eastern Nepal, in the Sunsari District, situated on foothills of Himalayas with southern tip touching the edge of the Terai at an altitude of 1148 ft (349m). It serves as a trading post between the hilly region and the plains of Terai region. It was once the location of a British Gurkha recruitment center, opened in 1953. The recruitment center is closed and the campus is now the home of B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences since 1993.

History






Limbuwan strike at Dharan


Dharan's history can be traced back to 1584 A.D,to ten Kingdoms of 
Limbuwan which was also known as Pallo Kirat Pardesh (a collective of Ten 
Kirant Limbu Kingdoms). Dharan-Bijaypur was the capital city of the Morang 
kingdom of Limbuwan region. This was prior to conquest and annexation of 
the Kirat Kingdom by Gorkha King, King Prithivi Narayan Shah. Dharan was 
known as Bijaypur until the 1950s when the settlement grew on the southern 
portion of Bijaypur and took its own name of Dharan. History of Limbuwan 
shows that Dharan/Bijaypur was an important town.
The indigenous people of Dharan are Limbu and Rai collectively known as 
Kiranti. Dharan started as a smll trading settlement of Chaubis or Miklung 
Kingdom of Limbuwan (one of the ten Kingdoms of Limbuwan). Over the last 
couple of decades, the population of Dharan has increased and diversified to 
include people from various ethnicity like Gurungs, Newar, Brahmins, 
Chhetris etc.


limbuwan flag and hoarding in Tinkune, Dharan


The modern Dharan's foundation was laid in 1902 A.D. by prime minister 
Chandra Samsher. He established a small village at the foot of Vijayapur 
hillock and named it Chandranagar (now Purano Bajar). The purpose was to 
supply timber to East India Company, who in 1890's had expanded it's North 
Eastern territory and was laying railway tracks. The first government official 
to be appointed in this small village of Chandranagar was Subba Ratna 
Prasad. A settlement grew steadily over the course of time. This growing 
settlement was named Juddha Nagar (now Naya Bazaar) after Prime minister 
Juddha Samsher. In 1960 Dharan was recognized as a 'municipal town'.
This transformation of Dharan was triggered by the establishment of the 
British Gurkha (GORKHA) recruitment center in 1953. Recruits from all over 
Nepal flocked to join British Gurkha thereby drastically altering the face of 
Dharan. There was a surge in population with recruits bringing their families, 
and others who came to seek employment and exploit business 
opportunities. As a result, Dharan has emerged as one of the biggest town in 
eastern Nepal. It is in true sense a melting pot of different ethnic groups, 
languages, dialects and religions.
In 1962, Nepal was divided into 14 administrative zones and 75 districts and 
Dharan was made the zonal headquarters of Kosi Zone. Initially, the town was 
divided into eleven wards, but in 1980 Banjjhogara Gaon Panchayat at the 
east (which is now the most developed area of Dharan) and Ghopa Gaon 
Panchayat at the west were added to Dharan Town Panchayat. This 
expansion led to the reformation of the wards. Now Dharan is divided into 
nineteen wards.


Etymology


The name of the city originates from "Dharan", which literally means a place 
where you saw timber. A typical Dharan is constructed by digging a 
rectangular plot about 5 to 6 feet deep. This hole is large and deep enough 
for an adult to comfortably move about. A platform is constructed to cover 
half the hole. A timber is placed on this platform and two man team, one 
standing on the platform and the other in the dug out proceed to saw timber 
with a huge saw blade. This is very labor intensive and dangerous process.


Games/ Sports


From the very beginning Dharan has been an arena for games and sports. 
Many of its players have represented Nepal in international competitions. Till 
now Dharan is a force to recon with in Football, Martial Arts and Cricket. The 
biggest and probably the best Golf Course of the country (18 hole s) is in 
Dharan. Buddha Subba gold cup football tournament is co-organised by the 
municipality every year.


Tourism


Dharan is a tourist destination in its own right. Communication is mainly in 
Nepali and English. People who are English speakers should have no problem 
comprehending many signs and road maps in Nepal.
Beyond Bhedetar lies the eastern hilly district such as Dhankuta, 
Bhojpur,Phidim, Terathum. Dharan serves as a gateway to some of the 
remote tourist attractions like Kumbhakarna Himal, Kanchenjunga, 
Makalu-Varun National Park, Arun Valley, Tinjure-Milke (Rhododendron 
Protection Area), Gupha Lake, Hyatrung Fall, and Sabha Pokhari. They are 
quite further and therefore require extended day trips.
To the south of Dharan is the city of Biratnagar and connecting towns, all 
within an hours drive. The towns of Tararah and Itahari are popular with the 
local population of Dharan.
Dharan, with its diverse population has numerous centers of worship i.e. 
temples, churches and a mosque. Vijayapur hill is of a particular significance, 
as it has several temples of importance, such as Dantakali temple, 
Pindeshwar temple, Budha Subbha temple and Panch Kanya. These temples 
are of historical and archaeological importance in as much as religious. 
These temples are centers for rituals, fares and events.
Different ethnic groups host their traditional cultural festivities all year 
around. The Dhan naach and Chyabrum naach of Limbus, Lakhe naach and 
Gai jatra of Newars, Sakela Sili naach of Rai people, Selo of Tamangs, 
Rodighar of Gurungs, Baalan and Sangini of Brahmin and Chhetris, all add to 
the cultural tradition of Dharan.
Other potential tourism prospects include:
White water rafting in Kosi river, starting from Chatara to Kosi Barrage.
Paragliding from surrounding hills and Bhedetar for the dare-devils.
Development of Panchakanya, a Natural Park into a mini zoo.
Archeological dig at the ruins of the palaces of the Kirat Limbu kings at the 


heart of the Panchakanya jungle.History of Limbuwan
Protection and development of flora and fauna of Chaarkose forest.
Cable car at Dharan-Bishnupaduka-Baraha Kshetra.
Better advertisement of Babadham fair.
Construction of an airport in Dharan.
Some measures taken by the Municipality of Dharan to promote tourism:
Emphasis on the development infrastructures of the city.
Support development and management of Pindeshwar Babadham fair, Baraha 
Kshetra fair and Bishnupaduka fair to promote religious tourism.
Budhasubba Football Tournaments coordinated by the municipality every
year.Annual publication of a brochure and city information of Dharan.
Publication and distribution of postcards and photographs of Dharan and 


Bhedetar.


Promote Dharan festivals. E.g. Dharan Mahotsav.
Dharan Clock Tower.
Development of the Saptarangi Park (Park of Seven Colours) and 


Panchakanya Natural Park.
Financial and other assistance to the development of a privately run 
Yalambar Park.


Geography


Surrounded by hills at three directions, Charkose jhadi (Forest) at the south, 
flanked by two rivers to the east and west which is Seuti river and Shardhu 
river respectively.
Temperate climate.
Great change of altitude at a short distance (305 m to 700 m at a short distance of 4 km.)
Sloped terrain.
Mid-point between Hills and the Terai plains (Bhawar region), and a gateway 
to the hills


Media


Dharan has two Satellite broadcast television stations.
Dharan Cable Network
Space Time Network
The people of Dharan are served by several Daily local newspapers and 
National Newspapers. There are 11 local newspapers in total. Among all of 
these, the most popular is The Blast and The Morning Post. National 
Newspapers are also provide to the people of Dharan on daily basis. Some of 
the National newspapers are The kathmandu post, Kantipur, Himalayan times 
e.t.c. And several monthly neighborhood papers serves the Town.
Bijaypur FM is home to Dharan's People which is a three-format system 
broadcaster that broadcasts around Eastern region of Nepal. Bijaypur F.M 
provides Local, National and International news and information, classic 
songs, and The current(which plays a wide variety of music).


Transport


There is a transport network bus connecting Dharan to all major cities and 
local towns. The local transport consists of cars, auto-rickshaws and 
rickshaws. Sharing a ride with other passengers is the most economical 
mode of transport.


Education


This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. 
Please improve this article if you can. (October 2008)
Dharan boasts of five private colleges and one public university, with more 
than 40 public and private secondary schools. Well-known colleges and 
universities include: BPKIHS (B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences), 
Hattisar Campus (TU, Food Technology), Purwanchal Campus (TU, Agriculture 
Engineering, Overseer). It also has 9 private and 1 public library and 3 special 
education centre. It has more than 5 technical school affiliated to CTVT.
[edit]List of Famous Academic center
Mahendra Multiple Campus, Dharan
Science And Technology Campus (Hattisar)
Purbanchal Engineering Campus
B.P.K.I.H.S. (B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences)


Statistics


It is one of the largest cities of Nepal beside Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Pokhara 
and Birgunj
Population: 95,332 (census 2001), of which male 55.514%, female 44.486%, 
2007 approx. 118,000


Civic Administration
Zone: Koshi
District: Sunsari
Number of Wards: 19
Development Region: Eastern Development Region
ReferencesDharan (Nepali: ????) is a major city in eastern Nepal, in the 
Sunsari District, situated on foothills of Himalayas with southern tip touching 
the edge of the Terai at an altitude of 1148 ft (349m). It serves as a trading 
post between the hilly region and the plains of Terai region. It was once the 
location of a British Gurkha recruitment center, opened in 1953. The 
recruitment center is closed and the campus is now the home of B.P. Koirala 
Institute of Health Sciences since 1993.