Rajbiraj
| Rajbiraj राजबिराज |
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|---|---|
| Municipality, City | |
Gajendra chowk situated in the center of the city
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| Motto: "Green Rajbiraj, Clean Rajbiraj" | |
 Rajbiraj
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Country | Nepal |
| Development Region | Eastern |
| Zone | Sagarmatha Zone |
| District | Saptari District |
| Government | |
| • Municipality Head | Bishnu Prasad Gurung |
| Area | |
| • Municipality, City | 25 km2 (10 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 76 m (249 ft) |
| Population (2011 est.) | |
| • Municipality, City | 37,738[1] |
| • Metro | 50,000 (approx.) |
| Time zone | Nepal Standard Time (UTC+5:45) |
| Postal code | 56400 |
| Area code(s) | 031 |
| Website | www |
Rajbiraj (Nepali: राजबिराज) (/ˈərɑːdʒbɪərdʒ/) is a mid-sized municipality in south-eastern Nepal established in 1950s. It is the headquarters of Sagarmatha Zone and Saptari District. Rajbiraj was systematically designed in 1938 and declared municipality in 1959.
Rajbiraj is one of the few cities given the status of municipality when Nepal's monarchy was restored in the 1950s. Rajbiraj is the first city of Nepal to be urban planned.[2] The Nepal government plans to develop it as a model city.[3] The city is now recognized as an educational capital of Eastern Nepal with various schools and colleges opening.
The city also has an old history with the ruins and stone samples from local Rajdevi Temple dating back to 4th century AD.[citation needed]
Contents
Toponymy
The city of Rajbiraj is named after Rajdevi Temple. The Meaning of Raj comes from the name of the Rajdevi temple which means state and biraj means residing.[4]
Demography
According to the National Population Census of 2011, Rajbiraj's population was 37,738, of which male and female are 19,684 and 18,054 respectively. The effective literacy rate was 79.71%, with male literacy at 88.40% and female literacy at 70.24%.[5] The data on religion in 2011 showed Hinduism as the majority religion. Most people follow Hinduism as a religion. The Hindu population accounts for 87%, Muslim 10.89%, Jains 1.26% and Sikhs 0.64%.[5] The city has also community of Muslims along with Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. Rajbiraj is situated within one of the most ethnically diverse regions of Nepal, and the rural hinterland is home to a diverse cross section of Terai communities consisting of Kayastha, Muslim, Brahmin, Rajput, Marwari, Tharu, Yadav, Teli, Badhai, Lohar, Sonar and Mandal.
The native dialect is Maithili which is mostly spoken in the city. After Maithili Nepali is widely spoken by Rajbirajians, and other widely spoken dialects and languages include Hindi, Bhojpuri, and Marwari.[5]
Transport
Road
Rajbiraj is one of the cities in Nepal that is connected by the East West Highway about 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the northeast. It is well connected to other Nepalese cities by National Highway and Sub Highway. Buses are an important mode of intercity passenger travel.
Air
Rajbiraj has its own airfield (IATA: RJB, ICAO: VNRB)[6] with flights to Kathmandu and other airports in Nepal. The government planned to convert the airport to an international airport. Recently the work of runway has been started and will finished by the end of 2016.[7]
Intracity
The best way of getting around the city is by using cycle rickshaws and taxis. There are also auto rickshaws running short distances but they don't operate in the main market area.
Climate
Rajbiraj Municipal has particularly a tropical climate. The three main seasons, summer, monsoon and winter respectively. Being located in the Plain (Terai) lands of Nepal, the climate and weather of Rajbiraj is usually hot.[8] The summer season runs from Early April to August and touches temperature ranging from 23 °C (73 °F) to 44 °C (111 °F). Monsoons arrive in the month of July heralded by dust and thunderstorms. The winter season prevails from the month of October till the month of March. Humidity, which prevails during monsoons, diminishes at the arrival of winters. The city observes pleasant sunny days and enjoyable cool nights with the temperature ranging from 6 °C (41 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F).
Rajbiraj winter season is the most appealing time to pay here a visit. Tourists arrive in large numbers, anytime between mid-September to late March or early April. Overall the January is the coldest month and June is the most hottest month in the year.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high °C (°F) | 21.5 (70.7) |
25.4 (77.7) |
29.9 (85.8) |
33.1 (91.6) |
33.7 (92.7) |
31.8 (89.2) |
31.7 (89.1) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.0 (87.8) |
30.2 (86.4) |
26.2 (79.2) |
24.1 (75.4) |
29.17 (84.51) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) |
10.1 (50.2) |
12.6 (54.7) |
18.4 (65.1) |
22.3 (72.1) |
24.2 (75.6) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.4 (75.9) |
23.6 (74.5) |
20.8 (69.4) |
12.4 (54.3) |
9.2 (48.6) |
17.55 (63.59) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 12.7 (0.5) |
14.2 (0.559) |
17.2 (0.677) |
56.1 (2.209) |
189.0 (7.441) |
320.4 (12.614) |
545.8 (21.488) |
384.3 (15.13) |
299.8 (11.803) |
92.8 (3.654) |
6.8 (0.268) |
5.4 (0.213) |
1,944.5 (76.556) |
| Source: Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (Nepal)[9] | |||||||||||||
Tourism
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Rajbiraj is not a typical tourist city but is a place to explore the interesting places in eastern Nepal. However, there are many things to do in the city. A number of colorful Hatiyaa Bazaars are held each week in different parts of the town, where farmers from the rural hinterland set up stalls to trade agricultural produce, spices and handicrafts. Rajbiraj is a hub for travel plans in Eastern Nepal. In the Rajbiraj city there are many religious Hindu temple to visit. Most of the temple are more than 200 years old. The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve famous for its wildlife, especially for bird-watching enthusiasts, is a mere 60-minute drive from the city. It is also home to the endangered wild buffaloes called "Arna" in Nepali. The Saptakoshi Bridge is also the attraction to visit it is only 25 km far from the city. Another location near Rajbiraj is Dharan (75 km), which is 2 hours journey by bus.
Temples
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Rajdevi Temple
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Rajdevi (राजदेवी) temple is situated in the city located in Rajdevi Tole. This temple is famous along the city people and entire district. It is believed that when a devotee worships with great devotion and true heart in the temple, their wish comes true. So, thousands of peoples from many part of the country come to this temple to worship the avatar of Goddess Rajdevi, known famously as goddess Rajdevi.
Festivals
Major religious celebrations include the major Hindu festivals Vijaya Dashami, Dipawali, Chhath , Holi and Vishwakarma Puja. The Chhath and Holi is heavily celebrated with a carnival-like atmosphere. The locals people take pride in the way these festivals are celebrated.[10]
Media
Print media include the National daily Kantipur Patrika, Gorkhapatra, Annapurna Post, Nepal Samacharpatra are available. There are numerous local newspaper who covers the news of the city and neighbours parts are Rajbiraj Dainik,[11] Rajbiraj Today, Krishna Dainik, News Today Patrika and Green Madhesh Patrika. while English news media are The Kathmandu Post and The Himalayan Times are also available.
Telecommunications services include Nepal Telecom, Ncell and UTL. WorldLink and Subisu are providing broadband services in this region. To promote local culture, Rajbiraj has number of FM radio stations which are: (1)Bhorukuwa FM (2)Chhinnamasta FM (3)Apan FM (4)C FM (5)Chandrama FM (6)Jai Madhesh FM,and (7)Prakash FM.
Educational institutions
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Rajbiraj has a well-established education infrastructure. There are a number of colleges and schools meeting the requirements of not only the city but the region and country as well. It is home to several Educational institutions for pre-primary, Primary, Secondary, High-Secondary, senior-secondary, graduate and post-graduate studies. Rajbiraj is an educational hub of Eastern Region of Nepal.[12] Mainly Nursing colleges & +2 colleges in the city are attracting the student from neighbor district & Eastern Region of Nepal.
Sports
Football and Cricket are the most popular sports among the younger generation in the city. The city has 3 local stadiums. The sporting activities are mainly centered in the multipurpose stadium Rajbiraj Rangasala in the main city. The popular sports are cricket, football, volleyball, basketball, kabaddi, badminton etc. Freedom cricket club and Rajdevi cricket academy are the most active cricket club in the city.[13] The Mahendra Club is one of the most active organizations promoting football in the city and organizes a regional club-level annual tournament: the Saptari Gold Cup.[14][15]
Cuisine
The staple diet of the region is rice, dal and curry. On the festive occasions, people prepare a number of fried items of vegetables as well as many specialties items. Fish is one of the most popular item in Rajbiraj.
Notable persons
- Parmanand Jha, Vice President of Nepal and ex Supreme Court Judge
- CK Raut, social activist
- Udit Narayan, Nepali and Bollywood singer
- Mehboob Alam, Nepalese cricket player Cricket Association of Nepal.
- Aditya Narayan, Bollywood and Nepali singer, actor
- Ram Raja Prasad Singh, Politician
- Gajendra Narayan Singh, Founder of Nepal Sadbhawana Party Nepal.
See also
References
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