Province No. 2
Province No. 2 is a province in the southeastern region of Nepal that was formed after the adoption of the Constitution of Nepal. It is Nepal's second most populous province, and smallest province by area. It borders Province No. 1 to the east, Bagmati Pradesh to the north, and India to the south. It has an area of with a population of 5,404,145 per the 2011 Census of Nepal, making it most densely populated province of Nepal.
The Koshi River and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve acts as provincial demarcation border between Province No. 2 and Province No. 1 in the east. And the demarcation line between Chitwan National Park and Parsa National Park acts as provincial demarcation border between Province No. 2 and Province No. 3 in the west.
The province includes eight districts from Saptari District in the east to Parsa District in the west. The majority of the province's population speaks Maithili, Bhojpuri, Bajjika and Nepali.
The Capital city, a sub-metropolitan city of Janakpur, also known as Janakpurdham, is a centre for religious and cultural tourism. It is also thought to have been the capital of the Videha dynasty that ruled Mithila region in ancient times.
The first urban planned municipality of Nepal, Rajbiraj, is also the oldest municipality of the Terai belt of Nepal. The town is believed to have been named after the ancient Rajdevi temple, which dates back to the 1700s. The metropolitan city of Birgunj is an economically important industrial centre and the only metropolitan city in the province.
As per a 17 January 2018 cabinet meeting, Janakpur has been declared as the interim capital of Province No. 2. Mohammad Lalbabu Raut Gaddhi is the current Chief Minister.
Geography
The region is surrounded by:- The Sunsari District of Province No. 1 to the East.
- The Chitwan District of Bagmati Pradesh to the West.
- The Makwanpur District and Sindhuli District of Bagmati Pradesh and Udayapur District of Province No. 1 to the North.
- India to the South.
The province is located on flat plains of Terai, and Chure or the Shiwalik Hills are the natural border of the province which falls in northern side. The southern side has an international border with the India. Koshi River on its eastern side acting as a natural border with Province No. 1. Province No. 2 has eight districts in a series. Koshi River, Bagmati River, Kamla River, Lakhandei River and Bishnumati River are the main rivers of the province.
Location | August | August | January | January | Annual Precipitation |
Gaur | 91/77.9 | 23/9.1 | 73.4/48.4 | 32.8/25.5 | 1590.2/62.6 |
Siraha | 89.6/76.3 | 32/24.6 | 72.1/47.3 | 22.3/8.5 | 1293.1/50.9 |
Birgunj | 84.7 | 29.3 | 60.8 | 16 | 1862.2/73.3 |
Jaleshwar | 84.4 | 29.1 | 61.2 | 16.2 | 1492.9/58.8 |
Malangwa | 84.4 | 29.1 | 60.8 | 16 | 1817.7/71.6 |
Janakpur | 84.2 | 29 | 60.8 | 16 | 1516.5/59.7 |
Rajbiraj | 83.3 | 28.5 | 60.4 | 15.8 | 1223.3/48.2 |
Lahan | 83.3 | 28.5 | 60.3 | 15.7 | 1231.4/48.5 |
Government and Administration
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 Janakpur High Court is the head of the judiciary. The present Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Judge are Tilak Pariyar, Mohammad Lalbabu Raut and Udaya Prakash Chapagain. The province has 107 provincial assembly constituencies and 32 House of Representative constituencies.Province No. 2 has a unicameral legislature, like all of the other provinces in Nepal. The term length of provincial assembly is five years. The Provincial Assembly of Province No. 2 is temporarily housed at the District Education Office in Janakpur.
Administrative subdivisions
Province No. 2 is divided into eight districts, which are listed below. A district is administrated by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further dived to municipalities or rural municipalities. The municipalities include one metropolitan city, three sub-metropolitan cities and 73 municipalities. There are 59 rural municipalities in the province.# | Name | Nepali | Headquarters | Population | Area | Website |
1 | Parsa District | पर्सा जिल्ला | Birgunj | 601,017 | 1,353 km² | |
2 | Bara District | बारा जिल्ला | Kalaiya | 687,708 | 1,190 km² | |
3 | Rautahat District | रौतहट जिल्ला | Gaur | 686,722 | 1,126 km² | |
4 | Sarlahi District | सर्लाही जिल्ला | Malangawa | 769,729 | 1,259 km² | |
5 | Siraha District | सिराहा जिल्ला | Siraha | 637,328 | 1,188 km² | |
6 | Dhanusha District | धनुषा जिल्ला | Janakpur | 754,777 | 1,180 km² | |
7 | Saptari District | सप्तरी जिल्ला | Rajbiraj | 639,284 | 1,363 km² | |
8 | Mahottari District | महोत्तरी जिल्ला | Jaleshwar | 627,580 | 1,002 km² |
Infrastructure
Transport
Province No. 2 has no difficult terrains still the transportation has not been well developed in the region due to lack of investments and negligence.Roadways
The major connecting link for the province is the Mahendra Highway which runs longitudinally across the province. All major cities of the province remain disconnected from this highway. Janakpurdham, Rajbiraj, Birgunj and Gaur lie 25,10, 24 and 42 kilometres south of the Mahendra Highway, respectively. The Tribhuvan Highway does not cross as much of the province as the Mahendra Highway, but it is most important link as it connects the province to Kathmandu and to the India. The starting point of Tribhuvan Highway i.e. Birgunj is the most important International Gateway and trade way for this province and entire country and hence known as "The Gateway of Nepal". In terms of revenue generation, Birgunj custom point is the largest. Birendra highway which is connected to Mahendra highway from Headquarter of Rautahat district Gaur to the Chandranigahapur. which is 42 km in length.- Mahendra Highway - Part
- Postal Highway - Part
- Tribhuvan Highway - Part
- Birendra Highway - part
Railways
- Janakpur to Lhasa
- Bardibas, Janakpur to Jainagar, Bihar
- Janakpur to Kathmandu
- Janakpur to Biratnagar
- Janakpur to Nepalgunj
- Janakpur to Birgunj
Airways
Province No. 2 has three domestic airports in use which are the busiest among the country.
- Rajbiraj Airport in Rajbiraj
- Janakpur Airport in Janakpur
- Simara Airport in Pipara Simara close to Birganj