Birgunj

Birganj वीरगञ्ज Gateway of Nepal
UTC+5:45 (NST)
Postal code	44300, 44301
Area code	51
Website	birgunjmun.gov.np

Birganj (

.

Birganj was one of the first three municipalities formed during the rule of Prime Minister

of the nation.

Etymology

Birganj was established as a conglomerate of several villages in and around Gahawa Mai Temple. Gahawa Mai Temple remains the epicenter of the town. The settlement was named after Rana Prime Minister

Bir Shamsher

, thus acquiring the name Birganj.

History

Ancient

Before the establishment of Birganj, the main center of Parsa district was Alau (near Dryport), Nepal. In July 1959 From Sugauli King Rajendra Bikram Shah has a history of setting up a military camp in Alau of Parsa district.^{[citation needed]}

The ancient name of Birganj was Gahawa but the 11th Rana Prime Minister of Nepal

changed it to Birganj in 1897. Before the establishment of Birganj Bazar, the surrounding villages of Bagahi, Alau, Barewa, Kalaiya, Parsauni, Inaruwa, and Chhapkaiya existed. To establish Birganj Bazar in a forest covered area, Bir Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana appointed his trusted duo Siddhvir Mathema and Dhadjavir Mathema (two brothers), respectively in Birganj as the rulers of Mal Ada and Kath Mal Ada. In this connection, Siddhvir Mathema distributed free land and timber and provided cash assistance to the homeowners in Birganj. The act subsequently required Siddhvir Mathema to pay the death penalty.

After the death of Bir Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana,

had driven Dev Shamsher and made himself Prime Minister. The people of Late Bir Shamsher Rana and Dev Shamsher Rana did not tolerate Chandra Shamsher Rana. Bir Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana's special man Siddhivir Mathema, was accused of conducting an inspection of a reservoir treaty and carrying out three lakh irregularities on his forehead. When Siddhivir showed the calculations he had spent on setting up Birganj Bazar, he was declared invalid and an order was issued to pay the money immediately. After answering that he could not pay for what he did, As a punishment, the signboard was stuck on his chest and he move it around the market. The verbal verdict of the death sentence was to cut off and kill. After hearing about the verbal death sentence given to Mathema who worked day and night to establish Birganj Bazar, Late Bir Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana's wife has paid 3 lakh and rescued Mathema from the death penalty.

Chandra Shamsher also wanted to displace Birganj Bazar, which his brother had established. He wanted to remove the Birganj bazaar from there and set it in Rautahat. According to the move to displace the market, In 1959, it raided the main market from Raxaul to Birganj and extended the rail line service to Amlekhganj. From the link, the train used to run around the houses, exploding and terrorizing the residents. Later, the rail link was moved to the east of the market (outside the market). The Raxaul city in India, which is currently connected to Birganj as the main gateway to Nepal, was not established. At that time Indian trains operated only till Sugauli.^[4]

On 18 May 2006, the parliament of Nepal declared that the country would become a secular state, prompting the

started twice both in 2007 and 2013.

Birganj is located in the Terai plain which is the northern part of the Indo-Gangetic plain. Birganj metropolitan city has an elongated shape. The variation in altitude is in the range of 78 m to 95 m when moving from south to north of Birgunj. Although the range of altitude variation is small, but there is a high micro-topographical variation. The city lies about 90 m above sea level. Quaternary sediments are mainly found in the area. Soil is very fertile that consists the mixture of clay, silt and sand.^[6]

The climatic condition is sub-tropical monsoon with a very hot and humid summer. The mean annual temperature ranges from 23.8 to 24.5 °C (74.8 to 76.1 °F). The annual rainfall ranges from about 1,300 to 2,800 mm (51 to 110 in) with an average of 1,800 mm (71 in). Majority of the precipitation occurs during June, July, August and September.^[7]

Sirsiya in the west and Singaha in the east are the two major rivers in Birganj. Both rivers flow from north to south. During monsoon, these rivers are flooded and river bank cutting at the bends is common. The water level is very low in these rivers during winter. The depth of groundwater table is approximately between 9–15 m (30–49 ft) deep with 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) fluctuation during wet and dry season.^[11]

According to the 2021 Census, Birganj had a population of 268,273.^[12] It is the second biggest city in Terai and the fifth biggest city in Nepal after Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bharatpur, and Lalitpur. It serves as the headquarters of the Parsa District.

At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Birganj Metropolitan City had a population of 244,086. Of these, 78.6% spoke Bhojpuri, 6.5% Nepali, 5.5% Maithili, 3.1% Urdu, 1.9% Rajasthani, 1.5% Newar, 0.7% Tharu, 0.6% Hindi, 0.4% Rai, 0.1% Bengali, 0.1% Magar, 0.1% Punjabi, 0.1% Tamang, 0.1% Uranw/Urau, and 0.1% other parties as their first language.^[13]

In terms of ethnicity/caste, 18.1% were

In terms of religion, 81.1% were Hindu, 17.9% Muslim, 0.4% Buddhist, 0.1% Christian, 0.1% Kirati, 0.1% Sikh and 0.2% others.^[15]

In terms of literacy, 66.5% could read and write, 2.4% could only read and 31.0% could neither read nor write.^[16]

Birganj is the Industrial and Commercial Capital of Nepal. Birganj Chamber of Commerce & Industries is the leading and the oldest Chamber of Commerce & Industries in Nepal.

In 1964 when Birganj Sugar Factory Ltd. was established by the Government of Nepal in collaboration with the Soviet Union (at present, Russia) with initial crushing capacity of 1,000 metric tons which later increased to 1,500 metric tons (Rajak, 2006). This was the first sugar mill established in the public sector. Later on, this mill was liquidated due to heavy losses.

Birganj is a major business centre of Nepal, especially for trade with India. Almost all trade with India occurs through this route. The Indian border town of

Birganj Customs holds a major contribution in terms of revenue earnings in the nation. On 16 July 2004

Birganj Inland Dry Port

came in operation to improve trade operation and address the concerns in handling the large volume of goods.

The India-Nepal oil pipeline construction that began on 9 March 2018, saw its completion up to 13 km (8.1 mi). The 69-kilometre (43 mi) Amlekhgunj-Raxaul oil pipeline connecting the two countries has been laid along the Pathlaiya-Simara-Jitpur, Parwanipur and Birganj bypass roadway. According to the reports, major part of the pipeline alignment is covered in the Birgunj-Pathlaiya commercial highway.[18]

Birganj is main entry to Nepal. So, the city is widely visited by the Indians. There are good three-star hotels in the main centre of the city. These hotels operate some mini casinos as well.

During Chhath festival, Ghadiarwa Pokhari is visited by numerous people from different parts of the country. Vishwa Buddha Vihar is another religious place which is located in the out-skirts of the city. Vishwa is actually shaped like a stupa and has engravings of Buddha facing the cardinal directions of the universe. This place has a tranquil ambience and it attracts those tourists who want to flee the bustling life of the city. The term vishwa is derived from the word vicchu-wa, which is translated as a resting place for Bikshu(s) or Buddhist monks and means a resting place. In the ancient times, the pilgrims stopped at Birganj in the midst of their journey between Lumbini and Bodh Gaya (India). The mound is protected by a boundary wall, and future excavations may well tell us about the history of not just Birganj but also its importance to Buddhism 2,500 years ago.

Transport

Birganj was built as the closest Nepalese city connecting the capital Kathmandu with India. Birganj railway station was connected by the

Rail

Trains run to major cities of India from Raxaul station (in India, adjacent to Birganj) and Sugauli station (17 miles from Raxaul) including the

, Hyderabad, etc. The Raxaul-Birgunj-Kathmandu railway survey report has been ready and in coming future the further work will be started soon.

Air

Birganj is served by Simara Airport, which lies 9 miles north of the city. Regular flights operate to Kathmandu & Pokhara, and . The second International Airport of Nepal is under construction at Nijgadh (22 miles from Birganj). There are plans to connect the new airport, Birganj and Kathmandu via a "Fast track" expressway after its completion. This is expected to reduce travel times between the capital and the commercial capital, Birganj.

There are regular bus services to all major cities and towns in Nepal including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Patan,

, Bhairahawa (Lumbini), Bharatpur (Chitwan), etc. Local bus services provide transportation inside the city and into its vicinity. Night buses from Birganj to Kathmandu are the most luxurious bus services in all over Nepal. Birganj bus park is the centre to find buses for any route,

Horse driven carts locally called Tanga have historically been the mode of transport for the Madheshi people. Today it survives as a popular transportation vehicle between Birganj and its sister city Raxaul.

The 6 km (3.7 mi) railway track from Raxaul to Birganj was converted to

(Birganj) Inland Container Depot (ICD) that became fully operational in 2005. Talks have been held to reopen the railway route from Birganj to Amlekhganj in Nepal by converting it to broad gauge because of its socio-economic importance.

Goods are transported to and from India via Birganj dry port, which is the key terminal of surface cargo delivery to Nepal. This cargo point on the south connects the heart of the country, Kathmandu, via another key industrial city,

Bara district

—offers scheduled flights to Kathmandu.

India and Nepal have an open border with no restrictions on the movement of their citizens. There is a customs checkpoint for the movement of goods between the two countries.

The city has its own stadium, Narayani Stadium which is Nepal's second largest stadium after Dasarath Rangasala built on 1981. The stadium has capacity of 15,000 seats.Its the home ground of Birganj United FC.The team plays in Nepal Super League, top tier football league.

A national level

hail from Birganj. Cricket is the most popular sport and is played more than any other games and sports.

Birganj has a history in education. Education was started in town with the establishment of Trijuddha School by Mahavir Prasad and Raghubir Ram during the regime of Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana which was among the first three schools to be established in Nepal. Currently, Trijuddha School is the second oldest school in Nepal. It serves classes in both English and Nepali Medium and also conducts diplomas for civil engineering.

Thakuram Multiple Campus, located in the city was the first campus to be established outside Kathmandu Valley as well as in the Narayani zone. This city has made rapid development in the field of education by the establishment of many schools and colleges. Notable institutions include:

• Moonlight English Boarding School.
• National Infotech College

• Madhesh University (Nepali: मधेश विश्वविद्यालय) (MU), established on Bhadra 23, 2079 B.S.^[21]

Birganj has many FM Community radio stations including Narayani FM 103.8Mhz, Terai FM, Radio Birgunj, Bhojpuriya FM, Indreni FM, Radio Bindas, Birgunj Musical FM, City FM, Aawaz FM, Public FM etc. It has also different television stations: My Television, TV Birgunj and Birgunj Television (BTV). Many local newspapers like Prateek, Loktimes Daily, Kripa, Bhojpuri Time, Birgunjsanjal, Jana Aawaz etc. are published.

Some popular online news site like Yatra daily, Nepal Post Daily, Aapan Birgunj, etc. are from Birganj. TEDxBirgunj was successfully held on 17 December,^[22] that was the first ever TED event conducted in Terai region of Nepal.

Narayani Hospital is one of the oldest government hospital of Nepal. It is the central hospital of government of Nepal. National Medical College^[23] under TU and Kedia Dental College^[24] also under TU are two major institutions providing health facilities. There are many other big and small hospitals, and international standard diagnostic centres throughout the city such as Asharam Hospital, Gandak hospital, Advance Medicare Hospital, Kedia eye hospital, Bhawani Hospital, Mangalam Diagnostic Centre, Vision Diagnostic Private Limited, Nepal Mediciti Vayodha Hospital etc. The area extending from Chhapakaiya ward No. 3 up to Gandak is full of private nursing homes and clinics. Mostly the people of Nepal from Parsa, Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi and other districts along with the people from Raxaul and different districts of India come here for medical check ups & treatments.

.

Cuisine

The cuisine of Birganj has influence of both Nepali and Indian culture. Dal, bhat, roti, vegetable curry, and achar (pickle) are the most widely consumed food items. Tibetan cuisine such as momo and chowmein are also popular among the youths and the elderly. A place named Adarsh Nagar has established its name as the center for street food where food vendors sell varieties of street food during evening time. Food such as Pav Bhaji (bread and vegetable curry) and Chaat (snack made with potato as the main ingredient) are relatively popular.

• Ranu Devi Adhikari — Nepalese singer
• Usha Khadgi — winner of Miss Nepal 2000
• Anju Kumari — politician
• Ruby Rana — winner of Miss Nepal 1994
• Samragyee RL Shah — actress
• Aarif Sheikh — cricketer
• Aasif Sheikh – cricketer
• Prakash Shrestha — singer
• Brijesh Kumar Mallik — Vishwa Hindu Parishad Nepal

• Gadhimai Temple
• Maisthan Mandir
• Narayani Stadium
• Parsa National Park
• Ramtole
• Simraungadh

• 
  Clock tower Birgunj
• 
  Shankaracharya gate in Birgunj
• 
  Bindhyabasini Temple, Birgunj
• 
  Shiva Temple located inside the Birgunj Sugar Mill compound

• Pokhara
• Butwal
• Dharan
• Janakpur
• 2022 Birgunj municipal election

• Race Khabar
• Yatra Daily
• NP Dailynews
• Birgunj Metropolitan City App