Madhesh Province

province of Nepal in Mithila Region

Madhesh Province (Nepali: मधेश प्रदेश) is a province in the southeastern region of Nepal.

Madhesh Province
मधेश प्रदेश
Location of Madhesh Province
Location of Madhesh Province
Coordinates: 26°32′N 85°25′E / 26.54°N 85.42°E / 26.54; 85.42
Country   Nepal
Formation20 September 2015
Capital CityJanakpur[1]
Largest cityBirgunj
Districts8
Government
 • TypeSelf governing province
 • BodyGovernment of Madhesh Province
 • GovernorHari Shankar Mishra[2]
 • Chief MinisterMohammad Lalbabu Raut
 • Deputy Chief MinisterRam Saroj Yadav
 • High CourtJanakpur High Court
 • Provincial AssemblyUnicameral (107 seats)
Area
 • Total9,661 km2 (3,730 sq mi)
 • Rank7th
Population
 (2021)
 • Total6,126,288
 • Rank1st
 • Density630/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
  • Rank1st
Time zoneUTC+5:45 (NST)
Area code041
Official languageNepali (under Constitution of Nepal)
Other Official language(s)1. Maithili
2. Bhojpuri
3. Bajjika
HDI0.519 (low)
Literacy52.28%
Sex ratio101.2 /100 (2011)
GDPUS$5.37 billion
GDP rank4th
Websitehttps://provincialassembly.p2.gov.np/

History

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The province was formed after the adoption of the Constitution of Nepal.

On 17 January 2022, the meeting of Provincial assembly declared Janakpur as capital of Province No. 2 while the province was renamed to Madhesh Province.[3] Hari Shankar Mishra is the Head of Province while Mohammad Lalbabu Raut Gaddhi is the current Chief Minister.[4]

Geography

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Borders

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It borders Koshi Province to the east, Bagmati Province to the north, and India’s Bihar state to the south. It has an area of 9,661 km2 (3,730 sq mi)-about 6.5% of the country's total area.

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

Districts

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The province includes eight districts from Saptari District in the east to Parsa District in the west.

Capital

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The Capital city 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]

Other cities

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The first urban planned municipality of Nepal, Rajbiraj, is also the oldest place 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 city of Birgunj is an economically important industrial centre and the only metropolitan city in the province.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Population

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It is Nepal's most populous province,[15] and smallest province by area. It has a population of 6,126,288 as per the 2021 Nepal census, making it the most populated province of Nepal.[16][17]

The majority of the province's population speaks Maithili, Bhojpuri and Nepali and Bajjika.[16]

References

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  1. "Breaking ! प्रदेश २ को स्थायी राजधानी 'जनकपुरधाम' बहुमतले पारित !".
  2. "Government recommends Hari Shankar Mishra as provincial chief of Province 2". The Kathmandu Post. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. "Janakpurdham declared Province 2 capital (With video)". Nepal Press. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  4. "Lalbabu Raut to be sworn in Province 2 CM today". The Himalayan Times. 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  5. 5.0 5.1 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). Archived from the original on 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  8. "Rajbiraj revisited". Nepali Times. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  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. 15 August 2015.
  14. "कुन प्रदेशको राजधानी कहाँ ?". Himalayan Kangaroo. Archived from the original on 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  15. Law, G. (2015). "Provinces of Nepal". statoids.com. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  16. 16.0 16.1 "National Population and Housing Census 2011" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  17. "सबैभन्दा बढी जनसंख्या हुने प्रदेश मधेश". ekantipur.com (in Nepali). Retrieved 2022-01-26.