Dharan

Dharan
धरान उपमहानगरपालिका
From Top:
View of Dharan city, Dharan Clock tower
Motto(s): 
"To build an environmentally sound city, functioning as the centre of education, health, tourism and business with fully developed infrastructure"
Dharan is located in Koshi Province
Dharan
Dharan
Dharan is located in Nepal
Dharan
Dharan
Coordinates: 26°49′0″N 87°17′0″E / 26.81667°N 87.28333°E / 26.81667; 87.28333
Country   Nepal
ProvinceKoshi
DistrictSunsari
First Settled1902
Established1958
Upgraded to Sub-metropolitan city2017
Founded byRatna Prasad Shrestha
No. of Wards20
Government
 • Mayorsize
Harka Raj Rai (Independent)
 • Deputy MayorAindra Bikram Begha (Maiost)
Area
 • Total
74.26 sq mi (192.32 km2)
 • Water1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2)
 • 108,600 sq mi (281,000 km2)
Highest elevation
(Near Bhedetar)
5,833 ft (1,778 m)
Lowest elevation
(at Tarahara)
390 ft (119 m)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
166,531
 • Rank15th (Nepal)
3rd (Koshi Province)
 • Density2,200/sq mi (870/km2)
 • Ethnicities
Rai(19.4%) Limbu(12.7%) Newar(11.1%) Chhetri(10.7%) Tamang(7.3%) Bahun(7.1%) Kami(6.2%) Others (25.2%)
Languages
 • OfficialNepali
 • AdditionalEnglish, Limbu, Bantawa
Time zoneUTC+5:45 (NST)
Postal Code
56700 (Sunsari), 56702 (Mangalbare)
Telephone code025
ClimateCwa
Websitewww.dharan.gov.np

Dharan (Nepali: धरान) is a sub-metropolitan city in Sunsari District of Koshi Province, in eastern Nepal, which was established as a fourth municipality in the Kingdom in 1958. It is the third most populous city in eastern Nepal after Biratnagar and Itahari. The Nepali word "dharan" means a saw pit.[1] The rainforest from which the tree trunks came is still just on the edge of the city. [2][3] Much later the British Gurkha camp opened in October 1960.[4] The use of the camp by British Gurkhas finished in the mid-1990s. Dharan has an estimated city population of 173,096 living in 34,834 households as per the 2021 Nepal census. It is one of the cities of the Greater Birat Development Area which incorporates the cities of Biratnagar-Itahari-Gothgau-Biratchowk-Dharan[5] primarily located on the Koshi Highway in Eastern Nepal, with an estimated total urban agglomerated population of 804,300 people living in 159,332 households.[6] It is the largest city in the Koshi Province by Area. It covers 192.32 square kilometers while Biratnagar and Itahari is 2nd and 3rd biggest cities by Area

  1. ^ Nepal Academy Dictionary.
  2. ^ Sugden, Fraser; Gurung, Ganesh (2012), Absentee landordism and agrarian stagnation in Nepal: A case from the Eastern Tarai, Nepal Institute of Development Studies, p. 30, ISBN 9789937857000
  3. ^ Regmi Research Series, 1979, p. 11
  4. ^ Nepal and the Gurkhas, (1965) Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, UK. p 135.
  5. ^ "Capital of Province 1 to be scattered in various districts". Archived from the original on 13 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Census Nepal 2021". censusnepal.cbs.gov.np. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.