Kathmandu District

Kathmandu District (Nepali: काठमाडौं जिल्लाListen ; Nepal Bhasa: ये: जिल्ला) is a district located in Kathmandu Valley, Bagmati Province of Nepal. It is one of the 77 districts of Nepal, covers an area of 395 km2 (153 sq mi), and is the most densely populated district of Nepal with 1,081,845 inhabitants in 2001 and 1,744,240 in 2011.[1] The district's headquarter is Kathmandu Metropolitan City, also the capital of Nepal. It is also a famous tourist spot as there are many religious temples, attracting places.

Kathmandu District

काठमाडौं जिल्ला
District
Location of district in Bagmati Province
Country   Nepal
ProvinceBagmati Province
Admin HQ.Kathmandu
Government
 • TypeCoordination committee
 • BodyDCC, Kathmandu
Area
 • Total433.61 km2 (167.42 sq mi)
Population
 • Total1,744,240
 • Density4,000/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+05:45 (NPT)
Main Language(s)
WebsiteOfficial website

Geography

Kathmandu district is one of the three districts located in Kathmandu Valley, which itself is located in the hills of Bagmati Province. The district is located from 27°27′E to 27°49′E longitude and 85°10′N to 85°32′N latitude.[2]

The district is surrounded by:

The altitude of the district ranges from 1,262 m (4,140 ft) to 2,732 m (8,963 ft) above sea level.[2]

Geography and Climate
Climate Zone[3] Elevation Range % of Area
Subtropical 1,000 to 2,000 meters
3,300 to 6,600 ft.		 88.2%
Temperate 2,000 to 3,000 meters
6,400 to 9,800 ft.		 11.8%

In the urban center, the temperature fluctuates between 32 °C in summer (June–July) to -2 °C in winter (December–January).[2] The annual rainfall of the district is 176.4 ml.[2]

Culture

Kathmandu district is a part of Kathmandu valley, which is a melting pot of various cultural groups, ethnicities, races, languages and religions. This vibrant culture is illustrated in the culture of the natives of the district, known as Newars, who are a multiethnic, multiracial, multireligious people bound by a Sanskritized Sino-Tibetan language of Kirat origins known as Nepal Bhasa. All the ancient settlements of the district have specific street festivals (jatras) arranged according to specific dates of the Nepal Sambat calendar. The main festivals celebrated are:

  • Yanya Punhi – literally meaning Kathmandu's full moon, a week-long festival during the Yenla (the month of Kathmandu) of Nepal Sambat, a festival started by Gunakamadev, the founder of Kathmandu city to commemorate the establishment of city
  • Gunla – a month in which musical bands and ordinary people make pilgrimage to Swayambhunath temple
  • Mohani
  • Dashain – the main festival of Nepal, celebrated by visiting the various Shaktipeeths around the city
  • Shivaratri – a very special festival in which people make small fire all around the city and take different types of toxic in order to show love to Lord Shiva
  • Buddha Jayanti
  • Sa Paru – a comic festival to commemorate dead relatives, celebrated during the full moon of Goon la
  • Chatha – the birthday of Lord Ganesha of Hindu pantheon
  • Holi
  • Pahan Chare – a festival of Animist origin celebrated by procession of matriarchs of Kathmandu
  • Shree Panchami – in the past children used to formally start education on this day. Presently, deities of wisdom, Saraswati and Manjushree (the mythological founder of the valley) are worshipped on this day
  • Swanti or Tihar – a five-day festival, the third day of which is called Laxmi Puja, when the families do their annual financial calculation and the next day marks the New Year according to Nepalese calendar, Nepal Sambat.

Along with these festivals, with the influx of population from other parts of Nepal, India, Tibet and South Asia, other festivals such as Teej, Chhath, Sakela, Lhosar, Janai Purnima, Deuda etc. are also celebrated.

Economy

Most of the offices and industries of Nepal are in Kathmandu. The major economic hubs are New Road, Durbar Marg, Putalisadak, Asan. The district exports handicrafts, artworks, garments, pashmina, paper etc. Tourism is one of the main industries of the district. Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world visit various religious places located in the district such as Pashupatinath, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath, Buddhanilkantha etc. Freak Street and Thamel are noted tourist destinations for Western tourists.

Education

Kathmandu district is the pioneer district in education in many aspects in Nepal. Durbar High School (the first school of Nepal), Trichandra College (the first college of Nepal), Padma Kanya College (the first women's college) are all located in Kathmandu city. Tribhuwan University, the first university of Nepal, is located in Kirtipur municipality of Kathmandu district. Besides these, thousands of educational institutions are located in the district which enrolls students from Nepal, India, Bangladesh etc.

Administration

The district consists of 10 Municipalities and 1 Metrocity.[4] These are as follows:

Demographics

The total population of the district is 1,744,240 out of which 913,001 are male and 831,239 female in 436,355 households. Average family size was 4.6 in 2001 and 4.0 in 2011 [5]

62.7% of the population speak Nepali, 16.9% Newari, 8.3% Tamang, 2.1% Maithili, 1.2% Gurung, 1.2% Magar, 1.2% Sherpa, 1.1% Bhojpuri, 1.1% Hindi, 0.9% Rai and 0.6% Tharu as their first language.

32.9% of the population in the district speak Nepali, 2.1% English, 0.6% Newari and 0.6% Hindi as their second language.[6]

Hospitals

See also

References
  1. "National Population and Housing Census 2011 – General and Social Characteristics Table" (PDF). Government of Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. February 2014. pp. 9(1), 10(2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  2. "Brief Introduction" (in Nepali). DDC Kathmandu. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  3. 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 22 November 2013
  4. "New Municipality". LGCDP. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016.
  5. "DDC Kathmandu statistical report". Archived from the original on 19 August 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  6. 2011 Nepal Census, Social Characteristics Tables

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