Gandaki Province
गण्डकी प्रदेश
Gandaki Province
Province
Official seal of Gandaki Province
Seal
Location of Gandaki Province
Location of Gandaki Province
Map of Gandaki Province, Nepal
Coordinates: 28°12′34″N 83°59′29″E / 28.20944°N 83.99139°E / 28.20944; 83.99139
Country   Nepal
Formation20 September 2015
Capital cityPokhara
Largest cityPokhara
Districts11
Government
 • TypeSelf governing province
 • BodyGovernment of Gandaki Province
 • GovernorPrithvi Man Singh Gurung
 • Chief MinisterSurendra Raj Pandey (Congress)
 • High CourtPokhara High Court
 • Provincial AssemblyUnicameral (60 seats)
 • Parliamentary constituencies18
Area
 • Total21,504 km2 (8,303 sq mi)
 • Rank4th
Population
 (2021)
 • Total2,479,745
 • Rank6th
 • Density120/km2 (300/sq mi)
  • Rank6th
Time zoneUTC+5:45 (NST)
GeocodeNP-FO
ISO 3166 codeNP-P4
Official languageNepali/Khas, Magar, Gurung
Other Official language(s)1.Gurung
2.Magar
Ethnic groups
HDIIncrease 0.567 (medium)
HDI rank2nd
Literacy74.81%
Sex ratio83.84 ♂ /100 ♀ (2011)
GDPUS$3.12 billion
GDP rank5th
Websitegandaki.gov.np

Gandaki Province (Nepali: गण्डकी प्रदेश [ɡʌɳɖʌki]) Listenⓘ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015.[1] Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China to the north, Bagmati Province to the east, Karnali Province to the west, and Lumbini Province and Bihar of India to the south. The total area of the province is 21,504 km2 - constituting 14.57% of Nepal's total area. According to the latest census, the population of the province was 2,479,745.[2] The newly elected Provincial Assembly adopted Gandaki Province as the permanent name by replacing its initial name Province No. 4 in July 2018. Surendra Raj Pandey is the present chief minister of Gandaki Province.

Etymology

Gandaki Province was named after the river Gandaki. Gandaki is a major river in the province. This river has Important links with historical Hindu civilization. The Gandaki river is mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. It has been said that Valmiki wrote the great epic Ramayana here. It is also believed to be the birthplace of Luv & Kush. Its evolution is described in Shiva Purana, Kumarakhand, in the chapter of the killing of Shankhachuda.

History

Gandaki province was once home to the Chaubisi Rajya, the 24 kings, of which Gorkha was one. From Gorkha, Prithvi Narayan Shah arose to unify all the kingdoms and expand to include all of present-day Nepal. Gandaki Province was known as "Gandak Kshetra" which was established in 1956. Gandak Kshetra was composed by grouping the then 4 districts. Those 4 districts are now divided into many districts. Gandak Kshetra had total area of 5,400 square miles (14,000 km2) and total population was 12 Lakhs.[3] The four districts were:

  1. Lumbini District (Rupandehi, Parasi, Palpa)
  2. Syangja District (Syangja, Nawalpur)
  3. Pokhara District (Tanahun, Kaski)
  4. Gorkha District (Gorkha, Lamjung, Manang)

In 1962, the administrative system was restructured again and the "Kshetras" system was canceled. The country was restructured into 75 development districts and those districts were grouped into zones.[4] In 1972 area of the Gandaki Province named Western Development Region. It had 3 zones and 16 districts.

Geography

The province has an area of 21,773 km2 which is about 14.66% of the total area of Nepal. The state extends between 27°-20' N ~ 29°-20' N latitude and 82° 52' E ~ 85°-12' E longitude. In terms of terrain, the province is spread over the Himalayan, Hilly and Terai region of Nepal; 5,919 km2 (26.8%) of the area falls under the Himalayan region, 14,604 km2 (67.2%) of the area falls under the Hilly region and 1,310 km2 (6%) of the area falls under the Terai region.[5]

Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in Gandaki[6]
Location August

(°F)

 August

(°C)

 January

(°F)

 January

(°C)

 Annual

Precipitation
(mm/in)

Baglung 72.1 22.3 47.5 8.6 1766.1/69.5
Besishahar 72.3 22.4 47.5 8.6 1639.6/64.6
Chapakot 60.2 20.4 46.5 9.6 1766.1/69.5
Modi 60.8 16 33.4 0.8 1094.7/43.1
Pokhara 74.8 23.8 50.4 10.2 2010.3/79.1
Waling 77.5 25.3 54.1 12.3 1962.7/84.5

Demographics

Religion in Gandaki Province

  Hinduism (82.89%)
  Buddhism (13.68%)
  Christianity (1.56%)
  Islam (0.77%)
  Bon (0.50%)
  Prakṛti (0.27%)
  Others (0.33%)

The province has a population of 2,403,016 which is just about 9.06% of the total population of Nepal. The population density is about 110 persons per square kilometre. The province has a population growth rate of -0.33%. The sex ratio is 89 males for 100 females, with a total of 948,028 males and 1,144,124 females recorded in 2011. The urban population of the region is 1,452,186 (60.5%) and the rural population is 943,652 (39.5%). About 50.1% of the population in the province are independent population.

Ethnicity

Caste/ethncities in Gandaki Province

  Hill Brahmin (21.26%)
  Magar (18.79%)
  Khas/Chhetri (13.13%)
  Gurung (11.30%)
  Kami (8.66%)
  Newar (4.23%)
  Sarki (4.10%)
  Damai (3.84%)
  Tamang (2.03%)
  Tharu (1.68%)
  Thakuri (1.61%)
  Kumal (1.49%)
  Bhujel (1.27%)
  Other Janajati (2.34%)
  Other Khas Arya (1.06%)
  Others (3.21%)

Hill Brahmins are the largest community with 21.26% of the population. Other aboriginal Khas communities include Khas/Chhetri (13.13%), Kami (8.66%), Sarki (4.10%), Damai (3.84%), Thakuri (1.61%) and Kumal (1.49%). The Janajati groups are Magar (18.79%), Gurung (11.30%), Newar (4.23%), Tamang (2.03%), Tharu (1.68%) and Bhujel (1.27%).

Language

Languages of Gandaki province (2011)

  Nepali (72.67%)
  Magar (9.85%)
  Gurung (8.70%)
  Newar (1.72%)
  Tharu (1.48%)
  Tamang (1.42%)
  Others (4.16%)

According to the 2011 Nepal census there are total 88 languages spoken in Gandaki Province. Nepali/Gorkhali/Khas Kura is the most-spoken language, by 72.67% of the population. 9.85% speak Kham Magar, 8.70% Gurung, 1.72% Newar, 1.48% Tharu and 1.42% Tamang.[7]

The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Magar, Gurung and Bhojpuri as official language in the province. The commission has also recommended Tharu, Nepal Bhasa and Tamang to be additional official languages, for specific regions and purposes in the province.[8]

Administrative subdivisions

Gandaki province is divided into 11 districts, which are listed below. A district is administered by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided into municipalities or rural municipalities. The municipalities include one metropolitan city and 26 municipalities. There are 58 rural municipalities in the province.[9]

  1. Baglung District[10]
  2. Gorkha District
  3. Kaski District
  4. Lamjung District
  5. Manang District
  6. Mustang District
  7. Myagdi District
  8. Nawalpur District
  9. Parbat District
  10. Syangja District
  11. Tanahun District
 
 
Largest cities or towns in Gandaki Province
Central Bureau of Statistics
Rank District Pop. Rank District Pop.
Pokhara
Pokhara		 1PokharaKaski414,14111PutalibazarSyangja44,876 Gaindakot
Gaindakot
2VyasTanahun70,33512DevchuliNawalpur42,603
3KawasotiNawalpur62,42113KushmaParbat39,600
4GaindakotNawalpur58,83614BesishaharLamgunj39,356
5BaglungBaglung57,82315PalungtarGorkha38,174
6MadhyabinduNawalpur54,14016GalyangSyangja36,967
7WalingSyangja51,14317BeniMyagdi33,498
8GorkhaGorkha49,27218GalkotBaglung33,097
9ShuklagandakiTanahun48,45619JaiminiBaglung31,430
10BhanuTanahun45,79220BhimadTanahun31,362

Government and administration

The Governor acts as the head of the province while the Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government. The Chief Judge of the Pokhara High Court is the head of the judiciary.[11] The present Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Judge are Sita Kumari Poudel (governor), Surendra Raj Pandey (chief minister) and Purushottam Bhandari.[12][13] The province has 60 provincial assembly constituencies and 18 federal House of Representative constituencies.[14]

Gandaki Province has a unicameral legislature, like that of the other provinces in Nepal. The tenure of the provincial assembly is of five years. The Provincial Assembly of Gandaki Province is temporarily housed at the Urban Development Training Centre in Pokhara.[15]

Economy

The economy of the province is largely dependent on tourism.

Infrastructure

Roadways

9 out of 11 districts of Gandaki Province are connected via surfaced roads. Road connections to Mustang and Manang are unsurfaced and can be impassable during the rainy season. Siddhartha Highway connects Lumbini to Gandaki. The highway starts at the Nepal-India Border in Siddharthanagar and terminates at Prithivi chowk, Pokhara. The major settlements on the highway are Siddharthanagar, Butwal, Tansen, Waling, Putalibazar, Syangja, and Pokhara.

Airways

Pokhara International Airport is an international airport that serves the province.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Nepal Provinces". statoids.com. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  2. ↑ "Gandaki Province in Nepal population". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  3. ↑ नेपालको जिल्ला प्रशासन पुनर्गठनको रिपोर्ट, २०१३ (PDF). Nepal: Nepal Govt. pp. 38, 39, 40.
  4. ↑ "Memorial Step of King Mahendra in 1st Poush 2017 BS". reviewnepal.com. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "Province Profile" (PDF). nepalmap.org. Government of Province No. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-28. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  6. ↑ "Nepal Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  7. ↑ "गण्डकी प्रदेशको भाषिक स्थिति" [Linguistic status of Gandaki Province]. www.annapurbapost.com (in Nepali). Annapurna Post. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  8. ↑ "सरकारी कामकाजको भाषाका आधारहरूको निर्धारण तथा भाषासम्बन्धी सिफारिसहरू (पञ्चवर्षीय प्रतिवेदन- साराांश) २०७८" (PDF). Language Commission. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "स्थानिय तह". 103.69.124.141. Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  10. ↑ "Constituent Assembly of Nepal". Archived from the original on 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  11. ↑ "High Courts get their chief judges". Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  12. ↑ "Prithvi Subba Gurung appointed as Province 4 CM - The Himalayan Times". The Himalayan Times. 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  13. ↑ "President of Nepal administers oath to Chiefs of seven provinces | DD News". ddnews.gov.in. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  14. ↑ "CDC creates 495 constituencies". The Himalayan Times. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  15. ↑ "First Provincial Assembly meeting of province 4 begins". Retrieved 2018-04-27.
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