Dharanधरान | |
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| — Town — | |
 Nickname(s): Dharan Bazar | |
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History
Dharan
started as a small trading settlement. Over the last couple of
decades, the population of Dharan has increased and diversified to
include people from various ethnicities like Rai, Limbu, Gurung, Newar,
Brahmins, Chhetris, etc. Modern Dharan's foundation was laid in 1902 by
prime minister Chandra Samsher. He established a small village at the
foot of Bijayapur hillock and named it Chandranagar (now Purano Bajar).
The purpose was to supply timber to the East India Company, which in
the 1890s had expanded its North Eastern territory and was laying
railway tracks. The first government official to be appointed in this
small village was Subba Ratna Prasad. The settlement grew steadily over
the course of time. This growing settlement was named Juddha Nagar
(now Naya Bazaar) after Prime minister Juddha Samsher. It was declared a
municipal town in 1960. The British Gurkha Recruit Center was
established in 1953 and this increased the flow of people and expansion
of the town. Recruits from all over Nepal flocked to join the British
Gurkhas, thereby drastically altering the face of Dharan. There was a
surge in population with recruits bringing their families, and others
who came to seek employment and exploit business opportunities. As a
result, Dharan emerged as one of the biggest towns in eastern Nepal. It
is in a true sense a melting pot of different ethnic groups,
languages, dialects and religions. In 1962, Nepal was divided into 14
administrative zones and 75 districts and Dharan was made the zonal
headquarters of Kosi Zone. Initially, the town was divided into eleven
wards, but in 1980 Banjjhogara Gaon Panchayat at the east (which is now
the most developed area of Dharan) and Ghopa Gaon Panchayat at the
west were added to Dharan Town Panchayat. This expansion led to the
reformation of the wards. Now Dharan is divided into nineteen wards.
Etymology
Local Government
The local administration body is the Municipality. Dharan Municipality is headed by an elected mayor. There are 19 electoral wards in Dharan. A corporator is elected in each of the wards, and people of Dharan directly elect the mayor by majority vote.Entertainment/Sports facilities
Dharan
has two cinema halls featuring Nepali, Hindi and English-language
films. The town also has a public library. From the very beginning
Dharan has been an arena for games and sports. Many of its players have
represented Nepal in international competitions. Till now Dharan is a
force to reckon with in Football, Martial Arts and Cricket. The biggest
and probably the best Golf Course of the country (18 holes) is in
Dharan. Dharan Football Club with co-organization of Dharan
Municipality, every year in August and September, the prestigious
Budhasubba Gold Cup Football tournament is held in which most of the
teams of national repute participate.Dharan has also seen tremendous
increase in popularity for bboying among the youths in the recent years
and bboy/bgirl performances are now common in the major events of
dharan. 
Tourist attractions
Dharan
is a tourist destination in its own right. Communication is mainly in
Nepali and English. People who are English speakers should have no
problem comprehending many signs and road maps in Nepal. Beyond Bhedetar
lies the eastern hilly district such as Dhankuta, Bhojpur, Phidim,
Terathum. Dharan serves as a gateway to some of the remote tourist
attractions like Kumbhakarna Himal, Kanchenjunga, Makalu Barun National
Park, Arun Valley, Tinjure-Milke (Rhododendron Protection Area), Gupha
Lake, Hyatrung Fall, and Sabha Pokhari. They are quite further and
therefore require extended day trips. To the south of Dharan is the
city of Biratnagar and connecting towns, all within an hour's drive. The
towns of Tararah and Itahari are popular with the local population of
Dharan. Dharan, with its diverse population has numerous centers of
worship i.e. temples, churches and a mosque. Bijaypur hill is of a
particular significance, as it has several temples of importance, such
as Dantakali temple, Pindeshwar temple, Budha Subbha temple and Panch
Kanya. These temples are of historical and archaeological importance in
as much as religious. These temples are centers for rituals, fairs and
events. Different ethnic groups host their traditional cultural
festivities all year around. The Dhan naach and Chyabrum naach of
Limbus, Lakhe naach and Gai jatra of Newars, Sakela of Rai, Selo of
Tamangs, Rodighar of Gurungs, Baalan and Sangini of Brahmin and
Chhetris, all add to the cultural tradition of Dharan. Dharan also
hosts a Sakela competition in Dharan every year. It starts from the
Baisakh Sukla Purnima(Full moon of day of the month of Baisakh) and
lasts for 15 days. Other potential tourism prospects include: 
- White water rafting in Tamor river, starting from Tamor to Chatara Ghat.
- Paragliding from surrounding hills and Bhedetar for the dare-devils.
- Development of Panchakanya, a Natural Park into a mini zoo.
- Protection and development of flora and fauna of Chaarkose forest.
- Cable car at Dharan-Bishnupaduka-Baraha Kshetra.
- Better advertisement of Babadham fair.
- Construction of an airport in Dharan.
- Emphasis on the development infrastructures of the city.
- Support development and management of Pindeshwar Babadham fair, Baraha Kshetra fair and Bishnupaduka fair to promote religious tourism.
- Budhasubba Football Tournaments coordinated by the municipality every year.
- Annual publication of a brochure and city information of Dharan.
- Publication and distribution of postcards and photographs of Dharan and Bhedetar.
- Promote Dharan festivals. E.g. Dharan Mahotsav.
- Dharan Clock Tower.
- Development of the Saptarangi Park (Park of Seven Colours) and Panchakanya Natural Park.
- Financial and other assistance to the development of a privately run Yalambar Park.
Geography and climate
- Surrounded by hills at three directions, Charkose jhadi (Forest) at the south, flanked by two rivers to the east and west which is Seuti river and Shardhu river respectively.
- Temperate climate.
- Great change of altitude at a short distance (305 m to 700 m at a short distance of 4 km.)
- Sloped terrain.
- Midpoint between Hills and the Terai plains (Bhawar region), and a gateway to the hills.
Media and communication
- Newspapers: The people of Dharan
are served by several Daily local newspapers and National Newspapers.
There are 11 local newspapers in total. Among all of these, the most
popular is The Blast and The Morning Times. National Newspapers are
also provide to the people of Dharan on daily basis.
Some of the National newspapers are The Kathmandu Post, Kantipur, Annapurna Post,Himalayan Times e.t.c. And several monthly neighborhood papers serve the Town. - Radio: Radio Nepal/ Rely - 648 kHz, Star FM - 95.6 MHz, Bijayapur FM - 98.8 MHz, Ganatantra FM - 94.3 MHz, Dantakali FM - 88.5 MHz
- Cable Network: Dharan Cable Network, Space Time Network
- Internet: Internet facilities are provided by several suppliers, Nepal Telecom is leading internet facilities provider.
Transport
Dharan is located off the Koshi Highway, which links Jogbani to Kimathanka. Regular bus services and hired vehicles connect Dharan with Biratnagar and other neighbouring towns. The easiest way to reach Dharan from abroad is to fly in to the airport at Biratnagar, and then take a bus or some other means of transport to Dharan. Dharan is about 40 km from Biratnagar. It takes around 1 hour to reach Dharan from Biratnagar by road. Else, a road trip by bus or hired vehicle from Kathmandu,the capital of Nepal, will take around 10-12 hrs to reach Dharan. The local transport consists of cars, auto-rickshaws and rickshaws. Sharing a ride with other passengers (bus ride) is the most economical mode of transport.
Education
Dharan has a very good academic environment
for students. It boasts of five public colleges and university (three
under Tribhuvan University, one under Nepal Sanskrit University and one
with deemed university status B.P. Koirala Institute of Health
Sciences), several private colleges with affiliation with other
national universities and more than 40 public and private secondary
schools. It also has 9 private and 1 public library and 3 special
education centre. It has more than 5 technical school affiliated to
CTEVT. 
List of Prominent Academic Institution
There are several Academic Institutions in the city of Dharan. Some major Academic Institutions in Dharan include:
- Mahendra Multiple Campus, Dharan
- Dharan College of Management(Purbanchal University), Dharan
- Central Campus of Technology(Hattisar)Link label
- Purwanchal Campus,Institute of Engineering, dharan-8,Tinkune,
- B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences
- Pindeshwor Vidyapeeth Nepal Sanskrit University
- Shree Public Highschool, Dharan 12
- Secondary Boarding School, Dharan 04
- Bishnu Memorial Higher Secondary School, Dharan 9 link label
- Vijayapur Higher Secondary School
- Depot Higher Secondary School, Dharan 18 link label
- Delhi Public School
Banking
The following banking facilities and ATM's are available in the town:- Nepal Bank Limited
- Rastriya Banijya Bank
- Agriculture Development Bank
- Nepal Bangladesh Bank
- Himalayan Bank Limited
- Nabil Bank
- Nepal SBI Bank
- Standard Chartered Bank
- Bank of Asia Nepal Ltd.
- Prime Bank
- Nepal Merchant Bank
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| Vedetar present view` |
Statistics
- It is one of the largest cities of Nepal beside Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Pokhara and Birgunj
- Population: 95,332 (census 2001), of which male 55.514%, female 44.486%, 2007 approx. 118,000
Civic Administration
Dharan Municipality looks after civic affairs in the town. The municipal area is divided into Nineteen wards. There is a proposal to upgrade it to a Sub-metropolitan after including neighboring area under its jurisdiction.- Zone: Koshi
- District: Sunsari
- Number of Wards: 19
- Development Region: Eastern Development Region
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