Gandaki Province
Province of Nepal
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Etymology
Gandaki Province was named after the river Gandaki, which 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.
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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. The four districts were:
- Lumbini District (Rupandehi, Parasi, Palpa)
- Syangja District (Syangja, Nawalpur)
- Pokhara District (Tanahun, Kaski)
- Gorkha District (Gorkha, Lamjung, Manang)
In 1962, the administrative system was restructured again and the "Kshetras" system was cancelled. The country was restructured into 75 development districts and those districts were grouped into zones. 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.
Demographics
As of the 2021 census, Gandaki Province has a population of 2,466,427. 6.85% of the population was under 5 years of age. Gandaki Province has a literacy rate of 81.65% and a sex ratio of 1107 females per 1000 males.
Ethnicity
Khas people are the largest ethnicity in the province, making up 53% of the population. Bahun are the largest group, making up 20% of the population. Of these Khas Dalits are 18% of the population. Hill Janjatis are the second-largest group in the province, making up 38% of the population. Of these Magars are the largest group, making up 19% of the population. Other large groups include the Gurung (11%) and Tamang (2%). Newars are 4% of the population, and Tharus are nearly 2% of the population.
Language
Nepali is the most common mother tongue in the province with 73.39% of the population speaking Nepali as their mother tongues. The second-largest language is Magar (10%). 8.44% speak Gurung, 1.74% Tharu, 1.53% Nepal Bhasha and 1.36% Tamang. Magar is mostly spoken in Nawalpur, Syangja and Tanahun districts, while Gurung and other Tibetic languages are spoken in Gorkha, Lamjung, Kaski, Manang and Mustang districts. A small population of Tharus live in Nawalpur district.
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.
Religion
Hinduism is the most followed religion in the province, with 82.22% of the population identifying as Hindus. Buddhists are the largest minority population with 11.54% of the population following Buddhism and Christianity is followed by 2.36% of the population in the province. Bon is practiced by 2.17% of the population, Islam by 0.91% and Prakriti by 0.67%.
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.
Districts in the province:
- Baglung District
- Gorkha District
- Kaski District
- Lamjung District
- Manang District
- Mustang District
- Myagdi District
- Nawalpur District
- Parbat District
- Syangja District
- Tanahun District
Government and administration
History and overview
The Provincial Assembly of Gandaki Province is formed under Article 175 of the Constitution of Nepal 2015 which guarantees a provincial legislative for each province in the country. The first provincial elections were conducted for all seven provinces in Nepal and the elections in Gandaki Province was conducted for 60 seats to the assembly. The first meeting of the provincial assembly was held on 4 February 2018. Netra Nath Adhikari from Maoist Centre was elected as the first speaker of the provincial assembly, and Srijana Sharma from CPN (UML) as the first deputy speaker of the provincial assembly.
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. The present Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Judge are Sita Kumari Poudel (governor), Surendra Raj Pandey (chief minister) and Purushottam Bhandari. The province has 60 provincial assembly constituencies and 18 federal House of Representative constituencies.
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.
Gandaki Provincial Assembly
Further information: Gandaki Provincial Assembly
Gandaki has 36 provincial assembly seats under FPTP.
List of assemblies
Committees
Article 195 of the Constitution of Nepal provides provincial assemblies the power to form special committees in order to manage working procedures.
Current composition
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.
Kali Gandaki Corridor Project
Airways
Here are the lists of domestic and international airport in the province.
Current airports
- Pokhara International Airport (PKR/VNPK & VNPR): Operates both International as well as domestic flights.
- Pokhara Airport (old), which continues to operate flights to Mustang and also offers ultra-light aircraft services.
- Manang Airport (NGX/VNMA)
- Jomsom Airport (JMO/VNGS)
- Dhorpatan Airport VNDR
- Baglung Airport
Former airport
- Palungtar Airport GKH- VNGK