Sunday, April 10, 2011

Hetauda, Makwanpur at a Glance

Introduction
This district covers an area of 2426 sq. Km. In the east, west, south and north part of the district, there are Bagmati River, Lother River, Churiya range and Chandragiri hill respectively. This district ranges from 166m to 2584 m from the sea level. The highest part of the district is Simbhanjyang (2584m) whereas the lowest part is Hattidhunga of Rai Gaun. The district is almost triangle shaped, Three types of climate conditions namely sub tropical, tropical and temperate can be found here. Three fourth part of the district is covered with hills where as rest consists of Terai plains.


Physical Facilities
In comparison to other parts of the district, Hetauda is highly developed with the restoration of democracy though the development work has been carried out rapidly, most village of the district have not got their fair share yet. The main problem is health facilities. Although there are many health center and health posts in the villages, people do not get adequate health services due to the absence of health workers. Even people of Hetauda do not receive proper health facilities although the regional hospital is the VDCs are linked with motor road. There is a district post office at Hetauda, which has expanded its services all over the district. Tele-communication service is also satisfactory. Although these have not reached all points of district, the Tele-communication office has provided the service to those area where is possible. It is also studying the possibilities of expanding its service. In addition to those, other facilities such as transport, education, water supply etc. are satisfactory.


Occupation
People are engaged in different occupation to earn their livelihood. Most people are engaged in agriculture. They depend on other areas too. But due to problem of higher education, most of the youth are compelled to be remained unemployed.


Casts and religion
We can find a combination of different castes and religion in this district. Most of the people of the district are Hindus though; there are Muslims, Christians and Buddhists as well. The major caste of the district is "Tamang" about 45.9% of total population. In addition to this, other castes are Brahman, Chhretti, Newar, Gurung, Tharu, Muslim, Magar. Chepang and Rai. Chepang is a rare caste, found only in this district. So, the district development committee Makwanpur has played vital role for their development and stability. Moreover, the district development committee has organized a program of free education system for them because educated Chepang can be counted in hand. Besides this, the government and NGOs have organized some professional programs in their village.


Natural Resources
Of the total land, 67.3% is covered with natural forest. Sal, Saj, Asna, Jamuna, Salla, spices, Katus and Utis are the main vegetation, found in the district. The southern part of the district is covered with sub tropical and tropical forest whereas the northern part is covered with temperate forest. Different herbal plants are also found here such as Rajbriksha, Chirais, Sugadhwal, Tejpat and Timur. One herbal farm is also operated at Hetauda under the authority of government. A British company has started studied about the possibility of petroleum products in this district. It has found some possible places but it has no prepared its final research report yet. The next natural resource of this district is water resource. Using the water of Indra Sarobar Lake, the government has produced electricity and the whole country is dependent on it.

Sites at Hetauda, Makwanpur

Tourist Sites
Although this district has fallen back in attraction tourists, there is many worth place visiting, the most famo20us tourist site is Daman. A vision tower has been constructed there. Many tourists visit here to view the natural scenes of mountain such as Mt. Everest, Kanchanjungha, Markhu and Lhotse. Hetauda Municipality has contributed a lot to promote tourism in the district. It has constructed a Martyrs’ Memorial Park at Hetauda-11 Nawalpur. This park has played vital role to introduce this district with others. Besides there Punya Kshetra, Chisapanigadhi, Mankamana temple, Makwanpurgadhi and Markhu (Indra Sarobar Lake) are also important places from the tourism point of view. The government has recently announced for the construction of tunnel from Hetauda to Kathmandu and Kantirajpath is also under construction. It will also help to promote tourism in the district.

Historical Places
This district has its own historical value. This district has been famous since the Sen Regme. So, there are many historical places in this district. Some of them are Makwanpurgadhi, Shikharkateri (The place where the war between British and Nepalese armies were fought) Chisapanigadhi and Hetauda.

Problem of Districts
There are many problems in this district. Many problems are related with agriculture such as high pressure on agriculture, non profession production, lack of irrigation facility, application of old agriculture techniques lack of agricultural land etc. Another problem is related with education. Higher school is available only in certain part of the district. Moreover when the students complete their diploma level study. They needed to go to another cities for the continuation of their studies. People face transportation problems during rainy seasons. Most of the roads are graveled and during the rainy season. It remains closed. The people are dependent on the government for the solution to these problems.