Khotang District

Khotang District
खोटाङ जिल्ला
District
View of Maratika-Halesi, a famous pilgrimage site
View of Maratika-Halesi, a famous pilgrimage site
Location of Khotang in dark yellow
Location of Khotang in dark yellow
Khotang District with local level body
Khotang District with local level body
Coordinates: 27°12′N 86°47′E / 27.200°N 86.783°E / 27.200; 86.783
Country Nepal
ProvinceKoshi Province
Established1962
Admin HQ.Diktel
Government
 • TypeCoordination committee
 • BodyDCC, Khotang
 • Deputy-HeadMr. Iraj Khadka and Mrs. Pooja Khadka
 • Parliamentary constituencies1 Ms Iruja Khadka
 • Provincial constituencies2
Area
 • Total
1,591 km2 (614 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total
175,298
 • Density110/km2 (290/sq mi)
 • Households
42,647
Demographics
[1]
 • Ethnic groupsHindus, Kirat, Christians
 • Ethnic castes
 • Female ♀53 %
 • Male ♂/100 female88.90
Human Development Index
[2]
 • Income per capicta1,132 US$
 • Poverty rate29.47
 • Literacy69%
 • Life Expectancy70.24%
Time zoneUTC+05:45 (NPT)
Postal Codes
036
Telephone Code56200 (List)
Main Language(s)Nepali, Chamling , Magar, Tamang Language
Major highwaysPushpalal Highway, Sagarmatha Highway
Websiteddckhotang.gov.np/en/

Khotang District (Nepali: खोटाङ जिल्लाListenⓘ) is one of 14 districts of Koshi Province of eastern Nepal. The district, with Diktel as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,591 km2 (614 sq mi) and has a population (2021) of 206,312.[3] The district is bordered by Bhojpur District in the east, Udayapur District in the south, Okhaldhunga District in the west and Solukhumbu District in the North.[4] In this district there are two municipalities and eight rural/urban municipalities.

History

Before the unification of Nepal, Khotang District was a part of Majha Kirat or Khambuwan. The land area between two rivers from Dudh Koshi to Arun River was Majha Kirat and it was under suzerainty of Sen King of Chaudandigadhi.[5]

A map of Nepal of 1942 shows current Khotang was part of Okhaldhunga (East No. 3) and Bhojpur (East No. 4)

During Rana rule, Nepal had 32 districts and the current Khotang District was divided between two other districts. Half of the north part of the current Khotang District was part of East No. 3 (Okhaldhunga) and half of southern part of current Khotang was part of East No. 4 (Bhojpur).[6] In 1962 the traditional 32 districts were divided into 75 districts[7] thus Khotang county of East No. 4 and some counties from East No. 3 were merged to become the current Khotang District.

Geography and climate

Geographically, Khotang is a hilly district of Eastern Nepal. It lies on the coordinates of 260° 50" N to 270° 28" N latitude and 860° 26" E to 860° 58" E longitude. Coordinates of the center is 27° 11' 60.00" N and 86° 46' 59.99" E. Total area of the district is 1,591 square kilometres (614 sq mi).[8] The elevations of the district is 152 m to 3620 m from the sea level.[9] Sunkoshi River and Dudh Koshi river makes natural borders in the North, West and South and a series of hills and small river makes border separating it from Bhojpur District in East. Approximately 56% of the district area is covered with forest, and about 42% is under cultivation.[4]

Climate Zone[10] Elevation Range % of Area
Lower Tropical below 300 meters (1,000 ft)  0.7%
Upper Tropical 300 to 1,000 meters
1,000 to 3,300 ft. 		31.5%
Subtropical 1,000 to 2,000 meters
3,300 to 6,600 ft. 		49.1%
Temperate 2,000 to 3,000 meters
6,400 to 9,800 ft. 		16.3%
Subalpine 3,000 to 4,000 meters
9,800 to 13,100 ft. 		 1.6%

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1981 212,571—    
1991 215,965+0.16%
2001 231,385+0.69%
2011 206,312−1.14%
2021 175,298−1.62%
Sources:[11]

At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Khotang District had a population of 175,298. Khotang had a literacy rate of 76.0% and a sex ratio of 1023 females per 1000 males. 70,086 (39.98%) lived in urban municipalities.[12]

Ethnicity/caste of Khotang district (2021)[13]

  Rai (40.98%)
  Chhetri (19.13%)
  Bahun (5.62%)
  Newar (5.22%)
  Magar (5.19%)
  Kami (4.96%)
  Tamang (3.76%)
  Sarki (3.50%)
  Damai (3.01%)
  Bhujel (1.82%)
  Sanyasi (1.38%)
  Gurung (1.08%)
  Other Janjati (4.14%)
  Others (0.21%)

Ethnicity/caste: 40.98% of the population were Rai, 19.13% Chhetri, 5.62% Bahun, 5.22% Newar, 5.19% Magar, 4.96% Kami, 4.90% Tamang, 3.23% Sarki, 3.01% Damai, 1.82% Bhujel, 1.38% Sanyasi and 1.08% Gurung.[13]

Languages of Khotang district (2021)[14]

  Nepali (47.63%)
  Chamling (17.52%)
  Magar Dhut (4.52%)
  Tamang (3.85%)
  Bantawa (3.82%)
  Sampang (3.62%)
  Dumi (2.71%)
  Newar (2.27%)
  Puma (2.13%)
  Thulung (2.09%)
  Wambule (1.94%)
  Nachhiring (1.35%)
  Koyee (1.27%)
  Others (5.28%)

As their first language, 47.63% of the population spoke Nepali, 17.52% Chamling, 4.52% Magar Dhut, 3.85% Tamang, 3.82% Bantawa, 3.62% Sampang, 2.71% Dumi, 2.27% Newari, 2.13% Puma, 2.09% Thulung, 1.94% Wambule, 1.35% Nachhiring and 1.27% Koyee.[14] In 2011, Nepali was spoken by 50.12% of the population as their first language.[15]

Religion in Khotang District (2021)[16]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 52.20%
Kirat Mundhum
 
 36.20%
Buddhism
 
 8.34%
Christianity
 
 3.07%
Other or not stated
 
 0.19%

Religion: 52.20% were Hindu, 36.20% Kirati, 8.34% Buddhist, 3.07% Christian, 0.1% Prakriti and 0.3% others.[16]

Administration

Khotang District is administered by Khotang District Coordination Committee (Khotang DCC). The Khotang DCC is elected by Khotang District Assembly. The head of Khotang DCC is Mr. Kamal Bhimraj Khadka and Mrs. Indrakala Khadka is deputy head of Khotang DCC.

Khotang District Administration Office under Ministry of Home Affairs co-operate with Khotang DCC to maintain peace, order and security in the district. The officer of District Administration office called CDO and current CDO of Khotang DAO is Shaligram Sharma Paudel

Khotang District Court is a Judicial court to see the cases of people on district level.

Administration Name Head Website
Legislative District Coordination Committee Mr. Bobby Chamling dcckhotang.gov.np
Executive District Administration Office Mr. Shaligram Sharma Paudel daokhotang.moha.gov.np
Judicial District Court Mr. Matrika Prasad Acharya supremecourt.gov.np/court/khotangdc

Division

The district consists of 10 Municipalities, out of which two are urban municipalities and eight are rural municipalities. These are as follows:[17]

# Local body Population (2011) Area (KM2) Wards Web
1 Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi 46903 246.51 15 [1]
2 Halesi Tuwachung 29532 280.17 11 [2]
3 Khotehang 22474 164.09 9 [3]
4 Diprung 20175 136.48 7 [4]
5 Aiselukharka 16097 125.93 7 [5]
6 Jantedhunga 15444 128.62 6 [6]
7 Kepilasgadhi 15288 191.28 7 [7]
8 Barahpokhari 14349 141.6 6 [8]
9 Rawabesi 13369 97.44 6 [9]
10 Sakela 11594 97.99 5 [10]

Former divisions (1962-2015)

Map of the VDCs in Khotang District

Prior to the restructuring of the district, Khotang District consisted of the following municipalities and Village development committees: [18] (Before 2014, Khotang district had 76 VDC and no municipality. Diktel municipality established in 2014 merging some VDC)

Constituency

The whole district is a constituency of the 165 parliament constituencies of Nepal. The district is identifies as Bhojpur 1 seat. The district is divided into two segment for provincial constituency named as Bhojpur 1(A) & Bhojpur 1(B). There are 106,534 electorates in the district.[19]

Constituency
Constituencies Settlements MP/MLA Party
Bhojpur 1 whole district Sudan Kirati NCP
Bhojpur 1(A) Bhojpur Municipality (ward no.-1-5,10), Tyamke Maiyunm (1-5), Pauwadungma (1,2), Arun, Shadanand, Salpasilichho Rajendra Kumar Rai NCP
Bhojpur 1(B) Bhojpur Municipality (ward no.-6-9,11,12), Tyamke Maiyunm (6-9), Pauwadungma (3-6), Ramprasad Rai, Hatuwagadhi, Aamchok Sher Dhan Rai NCP

Transportation

Khotang District (Diktel) is connected by two means of transportation (1) By road (2) By Air.

Roadways

The headquarter of Khotang District (Diktel) is connected with Sagarmatha Highway (H09), which is 156 kilometres (97 mi) long 2 way road. The Sagarmatha Highway is connected with Mahendra Highway at Kadmaha (Saptari District)[20] The other Important road is Pushpalal Highway which is also called Mid-Hills Highway of Nepal. This road connects Khotang to eastern and western hill destinations directly.[21]

Airports

Places of Interest

  • Halesi-Maratika Caves - A pilgrimage site for Hindus also known as Pashupatinath of East, located in Halesi Tuwachung municipality.
  • Barah Pokhari is a lake and a religious destination, as well as a part of trekking trail located in Barahapokhari rural municipality.
  • Bhulbhule (Pond & Waterfall)
  • Hill, mountains, rivers trekking and more

References

  1. ^ "NepalMap profile: Khotang".
  2. ^ "Nepal Human Development Report 2014".
  3. ^ Household and population by districts, Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Nepal Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b "Brief Introduction of Khotang District". Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  5. ^ "खोटाङ जिल्लाको इतिहास" [History of Khotang District] (in Nepali). 8 December 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Brief introduction of Okhaldhunga". DCC Okhaldhunga. Retrieved 30 March 2020. Okhaldhunga along with Khotang and Solukhumbu were combined to form East No.3 area among the 32 districts of administrative division of Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa recently after the unification campaign of His Majesty the King Prithvi Narayan Shah. At that time the headquarter of East No.3 area was Okhaldhunga as of today.
  7. ^ "A Guide to Government in Nepal" (PDF). Retrieved 30 March 2020. In 1961, the country was demarcated into 14 administrative zones with each zone headed by a zone commissioner, a royal appointee whose function, among others, was to assist the palace secretariat in suppressing political opposition. In the districts, now increased in number to 75 from 35, district panchayats were established by amalgamating the former village development blocks, and village and nagar (town) panchayats were also established.
  8. ^ "Latitude and longitude of Khotang District". Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  9. ^ "संक्षिप्त परिचय" [Short Introduction] (in Nepali). Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  10. ^ The Map of Potential Vegetation of Nepal - a forestry/agroecological/biodiversity classification system (PDF), . Forest & Landscape Development and Environment Series 2-2005 and CFC-TIS Document Series No.110., 2005, ISBN 87-7903-210-9, retrieved November 22, 2013
  11. ^ "Nepal: Provinces and Districts". www.citypopulation.de.
  12. ^ "Provincial/District/Local reports: Koshi Province". Census Nepal 2021. Central Bureau of Statistics.
  13. ^ a b "Table 1: Caste/Ethnicity and sex". Census Nepal 2021. Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  14. ^ a b "Table 5: Mother tongue and sex". Census Nepal 2021. Central Bureau of Statistics.
  15. ^ "Social characteristics tables" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics.
  16. ^ a b "Table 5: Religion and sex". Census Nepal 2021. Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  17. ^ "स्थानिय तह" (in Nepali). Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  18. ^ "National Population and Housing Census 2011" (PDF). 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  19. ^ "Bhojpur Constituency" (PDF). Election Commission of Nepal. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Sagarmatha Highway". Nepal Traveller. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Mid Hill Highway Project". Department of Road, Nepal. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
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