Koshi Province

Koshi Province (कोशी प्रदेश) is the autonomous easternmost province adopted on 20 September 2015 by Constitution of Nepal. The province is rich in natural resources, tourist attractions, recreational activities, and natural beauty. The province covers an area of 25905 km2, about 17.5% of the country's total area. With the industrial city of Biratnagar as its capital, the province includes major eastern towns of Birtamod, Sundar Haraincha, Damak, Dharan, Itahari, Triyuga Municipality and Mechinagar, and the Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga and Ama Dablam. Koshi River, the largest river of the nation, forms the province's western boundary. Under the First-past-the-post voting system issued by the Constituency Delimitation Commission, Nepal, the province hosts 28 parliamentary seats and 56 provincial assembly seats.

The province is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal to the east, Bihar to the south, and Bagmati Province and Madhesh Province to the west. According to the 2021 Nepal census, there are around five million people in the province, with a population density of 190 per square kilometre. In the 2011 Nepal census, the province had approximately 4.5 million people.

Etymology
The province is named Koshi after the Koshi River, which is the largest river in the country. On 1 March 2023 the former temporary name of the province, Province No. 1, was changed to Koshi Province. The Kosi river is significantly and culturally an important river of Nepal. The Koshi river is called Kausika in the Rigveda and Kausiki in the Mahabharata. The Kosi is associated with many ancient spiritual stories. It is mentioned in the Bal Kand section of Valmiki's Ramayana as the Kausiki who is the form assumed by Satyavati after her death. In the Markandeya Purana, the Kosi is described as the primal force. Due to the violent nature of the Kosi in monsoon season, legend says that Parvati, the wife of Shiva, after defeating the demon Durg, became known as the warrior goddess Durga who transformed into Kaushiki. In Ramayana, the river Ganges is depicted as her elder sister. According to Mahabharata epic, the God of death took the form of a woman and resides on the banks of the river to limit population growth. Kosi resonates with the folklore of Mithila. The most important depictions of Kosi folklore are Kosi as a virgin absolutely carefree and full of energy, and as a frustrated wife of old hermit Richeek wandering in the Himalayas. Koshi river is also invoked as the mother: 'Kosi Ma'.

History
When King Mung Mawrong Hang came to prominence in the Terai lands of Limbuwan, e cleared much of the forest area in present-day Rangeli, east of Biratnagar, and built a town there. He named his Kingdom Morang after his name and rose to power. Meanwhile, King Prithvi Narayan Shah was on a campaign to conquer all the hill kingdoms into his Empire (the Kingdom of Nepal). He attacked Limbuwan on two fronts. After the Limbuwan–Gorkha War from 1771 to 1774 AD, the Limbu ministers of Morang, and Limbu rulers of the ten principalities came to an agreement with the King of Gorkha. With the Limbuwan Gorkha treaty of 1774, Limbuwan was annexed to the Kingdom of Nepal.

The term district has been used in various ways throughout the modern history of Nepal. At the end of the Rana regime, Nepal was divided into 32 districts. Eastern Nepal was composed of the following districts: In 1956, the Eastern districts of Nepal were grouped together into a region or kshetra called the Aruṇ Kshetra or Arun Region, after the Arun River which flows through it. The Arun Kshetra was made by combining the then five districts. The Arun Kshetra had total area of 7000 sqmi and total population was 1.1 million, or 1.1 million. The five districts were:
 * Morang District including Sunsari District and Jhapa District
 * Udayapur District
 * Ilam District
 * Dhankuta District:( including Taplejung, Panchthar, Terhathum, Sankhuwasabha, and Dhankuta)
 * Bhojpur District (or "East No. 4": including Bhojpur and Khotang)
 * Okhaldhunga District (or "East No. 3": including Okhaldhunga and Solukhumbu)
 * 1) Biratnagar District: including Sunsari and Morang
 * 2) Dhankuta District: including Dhankuta and Sankhuwasabha
 * 3) Taplejung District: including Taplejung and Panchtharl
 * 4) Mechi District: including Ilam and Jhapa
 * 5) Bhojpur District: including Bhojpur and Khotang

In 1962, the administrative system once again was changed, abolishing the kshetra system. The country was restructured into 75 development districts and those districts were grouped together into zones. In 1972, what is now called Koshi Province was called the Eastern Development Region. It was composed of 16 districts which were grouped into three zones: Koshi, Mechi, and Sagarmatha. In 2015, the Constitution was adopted which made 14 Districts into an autonomous Province which was temporarily named Province No. 1. At the cabinet meeting held on 17 January 2018, the city of Biratnagar was declared the interim capital of Province No. 1. On 6 May 2019 it was declared the permanent capital by a vote of two-thirds of the provincial assembly's MLAs. The province was named Koshi Province on passage of the bill in Parliament. Later, some protested the name "Koshi".

Geography
Koshi Province covers an area of 25,905 km2. The province has three-fold geographical division: Himalayan in the north, Hilly in the middle and Terai in the southern part of Nepal, varying between an altitude of 70 m and 8,848 m. Terai, extended from east to west, is made up of alluvial soil. To the west of Koshi River, in between Mahabharat Range and Churia Range, there elongates a valley called Inner Terai. Churai Range, Mahabharat Range and other hills of various heights, basins, tars, and valleys form the hilly region. Some parts of this region are favorable for agriculture but some other parts are not. The Himalayan region, in the north, consists of many mountains ranges. Mahalangur, Kumbhakarna, Umvek, Lumba Sumba and Janak being some of them. The highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest (8848.86 m); and the third highest mountain, Kangchenjunga (8598 m) also lie in this province.

Nepal's lowest point, Kechana Kawal at 70 m, is located in Jhapa District of this province. There are many river basins and gentle slopes as well. Chure, Mahabharat, many basins, tars, and valleys form the Terai region. Between the Churia and Mahabharat, a low land of inner Terai exists. The Koshi River flows through the region with its seven tributaries; Indrawati, Likhu, Tamur, Dudh Kosi, Arun, Tamakoshi and Bhote Koshi (Sunkoshi). Tundra vegetables, coniferous forests, deciduous monsoon forests, and sub-tropical evergreen woods are vegetations found here. Sub-tropical, temperate, sub-temperate, and alpine and tundra types of climates are found here.

Koshi Pradesh also includes the snow fall capped peaks including Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga, Makalu with Solukhumbu, Sankhuwasabha, and Taplejung districts towards the north, the jungle clad hill tracts of Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Bhojpur, Tehrathum, Ilam and Panchthar in the middle and the alluvial fertile plains of Udayapur, Sunsari, Morang and Jhapa. Province No. 1 includes places like Haleshi Mahadev Temple, Pathivara Temple and Barahachhetra, which are the famous religious shrines for Hindus.

Climate
Climatic conditions of Nepal vary from one place to another in accordance with their geographical features. Koshi Pradesh has three geographical folds: the lowland of Terai, the hilly region, and the Himalayas' highlands. The low land altitude is 59 m, whereas the highest point is 8848 m.

In the north, summers are cool and winters severe, while in the south, summers are tropical and winters are mild. Climatically, the southern belt of the province, the Terai, experiences a warm and humid climate. Eastern Nepal receives approximately 2,500 millimeters of rain annually. Koshi Pradesh has five seasons: spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and winter.

Mountains
The northern part of Koshi Pradesh has the highest mountain in the world. Here is a list of mountains in Koshi Pradesh.

Rivers
There are many rivers in the region that flow south from the Himalayas which are tributaries of other large rivers that join Ganga River (in India). Sapta Koshi or the Koshi is the main river of the region. Seven tributaries join the Koshi so it is called Saptkoshi.

The major rivers in the province are:
 * Mechi River
 * Kankai River
 * Koshi River (SaptaKoshi) Below given names are tributaries:
 * Tamor
 * Arun River
 * Sun Koshi
 * Dudh Koshi
 * Likhu Khola
 * Tama Koshi
 * Indrawati River

Protected Areas

 * Sagarmatha National Park – 1148 km2
 * Makalu Barun National Park – 1500 km2
 * Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve – 175 km2
 * Kanchenjunga Conservation Area – 2035 km2

Subdivisions
There are total of 137 local administrative units in this province, in which there is 1 metropolitan city, 2 sub-metropolitan cities, 46 municipalities and 88 rural municipalities.

Districts
The province is made up of the 14 following districts:


 * 1) Bhojpur District
 * 2) Dhankuta District
 * 3) Ilam District
 * 4) Jhapa District
 * 5) Khotang District
 * 6) Morang District
 * 7) Okhaldhunga District
 * 8) Panchthar District
 * 9) Sankhuwasabha District
 * 10) Solukhumbu District
 * 11) Sunsari District
 * 12) Taplejung District
 * 13) Tehrathum District
 * 14) Udayapur District

Municipality
Cities and villages are governed by municipalities in Nepal. A district may have one or more municipalities. Koshi Province has two types of municipalities.
 * 1) Urban Municipality (Urban Municipality has three levels):
 * 2) Metropolitan city
 * 3) Sub-metropolitan city and
 * 4) Municipality
 * 5) Rural Municipality (Gaunpalika)

The government of Nepal has set out minimum criteria to meet city and towns. These criteria include a certain population, infrastructure, and revenues.

Administration
The Province is governed by Unicameral parliamentary system of representative Democracy.The house consists of 93 seats where 56 candidates are elected by FPTP and 37 by proportional basis. The legislative assembly comprises a Chief Minister who is executive Head, Deputy chief Minister who assists the Chief Minister, a speaker who host the assembly, a deputy speaker who assists the speaker, and various ministries which look over respective departments. The first provincial elections in Nepal were held on 26 November and 7 December 2017. According to the results of this election in Koshi province, the biggest party is CPN (UML) winning 51 seats; the second biggest party is Nepali Congress which won 21 seats; the third biggest party is CPN (Maoist Center) which won 15 seats. In a meeting on 17 January 2018, the Government of Nepal finalized the temporary capital of Province No. 1, which was renamed as Koshi Province in Falgun 17 2079 and appointed Govinda Subba as the governor. Sher Dhan Rai was elected as first Chief Minister of Koshi Province on 14 February 2018. Currently Hikmat Kumar Karki is serving as Chief Minister who is the executive Head of Koshi Government For convenience and decentralisation, the province is divided into 14 districts, making it the province with the most districts in Nepal. CDO is the administrative head of each District. District inturn is further divided into Metropolitan city or/and Sub Metropolitan city or/and Municipality or/and Rural Municipality which has its own Local Government.

Health Care
Koshi province stretches from Himalayan region to terai belt due to which health facilities are more viable in Terai than other parts.



Koshi Province has 791 public health facilities: 3 Hub hospitals ( BPKIHS, Koshi Hospital), 18 Public Hospitals, 1 Regional Medical Store, 41 Primary health centre, 648 Health Post, 34 Urban health care centre, 41 community health units and so on.

Energy
There are various power stations in Koshi province. Mai Hydropower Station is one of station located in Illam and producing 22 MW energy & established in 2014.It is owned by Sanima Hydropower. Puwa Khola Hydropower Station is located in Illam with capacity of 6.2 MW energy.It was established in 1999.It is owned by NEA Chatara Hydropower Station is located in Sunsari District with production capacity of 3.2 MW energy and is owned by NEA. It was established in 1996. Iwa Khola Hydropower Project was established in 2018–19 ByRairang Hydropower Development Company Ltd with production capacity of 9.9 MW energy. Upper Mai Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Mai Valley Hydropower P Ltd. in 2014 having capacity of 12 MW. Pikhuwa Khola Hydropower Station is located in Bhojpur and established by Eastern Hydropower P Ltdin 2019 having capacity of 5 MW. Hewa Khola A Hydropower Station is located in Pachthar and established by Panchthar Power Company Pvt. Ltd. in 2018 having capacity of 14.9 MW. Jogmai Khola Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Sanvi Energy Pvt. Ltd. in 2014 having capacity of 7.6 MW. Upper Puwa-1 Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Joshi Hydropower Co. P. Ltd in 2013 having capacity of 3 MW. Upper Mai-C Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Mai Valley Hydropower P.L. in 2014 having capacity of 6.1 MW.

Kabeli B1 Hydropower Station is located in Pachthar and established by Arun Kabeli Power Limited. in 2019 having capacity of 25 MW. Lower Hewa Hydropower Station is located in Pachthar and established by Mountain Hydro Nepal (P.) Ltd in 2017 having capacity of 21.6 MW. Mai Cascade Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Himal Dolkha Hydropower Company Pvt Ltd in 2014 having capacity of 8 MW. Puwa Khola-1 Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Puwa Khola – 1 Hydropower Pvt. Ltd in 2014 having capacity of 4 MW. Solu Hydropower Station is located in Solukhumbu and established by Upper Solu Hydroelectric Company Pvt Ltd in 2016 having capacity of 23.5 MW. Molun Khola Small Hydropower Station is located in Okhaldhunga and established by Molun Hydropower Co. Pvt. Ltd in 2019 having capacity of 7 MW. Upper Khorunga Hydropower Station is located in Tehrathum and established by Terhathum Power Company Pvt. Ltd. in 2018 having capacity of 7.5 MW. Super Mai Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Supermai Hydropower Pvt.Ltd. in 2020 having capacity of 7.8 MW. Super Mai-A Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Sagarmatha Jalbidhyut Company P.Ltd. in 2020 having capacity of 9.6 MW. Super Mai Khola Cascade Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Mai Khola Hydropower Pvt.Ltd. in 2020 having capacity of 3.8 MW.

Mai Khola Small Hydropower Station is located in Illam and established by Himal Dolkha Hydropower Co Ltd. in 2008 having capacity of 4.5 MW.

duhabi Multi-fuel diesel power station is present in Sunsari with production capacity of 39 MW and was commissioned in 1997.

Provincial Assembly
The first meeting of the provincial assembly was held on 5 February 2018 in Biratnagar and was chaired by Om Prakash Sarbagi. Pradeep Kumar Bhandari was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly on 11 February 2018. Saraswoti Pokharel was also elected unopposed to the post of Deputy Speaker on 15 February 2018.

Transportation
Only three districts out of Koshi's fourteen fall in Terai and one district falls in inner Terai. Elevation from the lowest point of Nepal, Kechana (70 m above sea level) to the highest point of world, Everest (8848 m above sea level) lies in this province, so maintaining a consistent road network is challenging, but all districts are connected by road networks. Air services are available. Rail services are under construction.

Roadways
Almost all districts are connected by roads in Koshi, although some roads at high altitudes are not paved and conditions of those roads worsen during the rainy season. In the hills and mountain regions, the traffic is much lighter compared to Terai regions like Jhapa and Morang due to the difficult terrain.

The main highways of Koshi connect Terai to the high-altitude regions. There are feeder roads too for inter-district and in-district travel.

Airways
Many domestic airports and air services are available in the region including one of the most geographically challenging airports, Lukla Airport.

Airports in Koshi:
 * Bhojpur Airport (Bhojpur)
 * Biratnagar Airport (Biratnagar)
 * Kangel Danda Airport (Kangel, Solukhumbu)
 * Man Maya Airport (Khanidanda, Khotang)
 * Thamkharka Airport (Khotang Bazar)
 * Lamidanda Airport (Lamidanda, Khotang)
 * Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Lukla, Solukhumbu)
 * Phaplu Airport (Phaplu, Solukhumbu)
 * Rumjatar Airport (Rumjatar, Okhladhunga)
 * Syangboche Airport (Syangboche, Solukhumbu)
 * Taplejung Airport (Taplejung)
 * Tumlingtar Airport (Tumlingtar, Sankhuwasabha)
 * Bhadrapur Airport (Bhadrapur, Jhapa)

Railways
There is a 13 km railway track which has been laid in Nepal by Indian Railways is connected to Bathnaha railway station. Bathnaha is a village situated at Araria district of Bihar state of India. A custom yard station has been built both side of the border on Bathnaha–Katahari railway section. Katahari is at distance of 18 km from Bathnaha Railway Station. Itahari will be further connected with Katahari which is 20 km at distance from Biratnagar (Katahari).

Economy
Koshi has the third largest economy in Nepal, and contributes 15% to the national GDP. Koshi's GDP growth rate was estimated to be 6.5% in fiscal year 2018/19. Population in absolute poverty in Koshi is 12.4%, and the multidimensional poverty rate is 19.7%. The major contributors to the economy of Koshi are:

Agriculture
Agriculture accounts for 38% of Koshi's GDP and is the main source of livelihood for 75% of the population.

The province has 714 registered businesses, with agriculture and forestry industry having the highest number registered businesses 114 (15.96%). Koshi contributes 22% of the total paddy production of Nepal and 29.3% of the national maize production.

Tourism
Koshi has the following tourist attractions:
 * Mount Everest located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation of 8,848.86 m was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.
 * Sagarmatha National park, Solukhumbu
 * Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Sunsari
 * Tinjure, Capital of Rhododendron
 * Kanchanjunga National Park
 * Pathhivara Temple, Taplejung
 * Halesi Mahadev, Khotang
 * Budha Subba Temple, Sunsari
 * Kanyam, illam
 * Kechana Kawal, Lowest place in Nepal

Cricket

 * Koshi Province Cricket Association

Koshi province has wide audience and sportsperson in the Province. Also, It has been a pioneer in organising night matches. Inaruwa, sunsari had organised first night cricket in Nepal. Similarly, First night football was organised in Duhabi, Sunsari on 31 March 2018.

The provincial teams take part in various games inside and outside Nepal. The team also comprises Men as well as women.The overall sports in province is administered by Province 1 Sports Department.

There are numerous stadium in Koshi are:
 * Domalal Rajbanshi Stadium, Birtamode, Jhapa
 * Inaruwa Stadium, Inaruwa, Sunsari
 * Itahari Regional Stadium, Itahari, Sunsari
 * Sahid Rangasala, Biratnagar
 * Tharuhat Stadium, Gaighat

Major football cups includes
 * Birat Gold Cup Biratnagar
 * Jhapa Gold Cup, Jhapa
 * Budha Subba Gold Cup, Dharan
 * Manmohan Duhabi Gold Cup, Duhabi
 * Madan Bhandari Invitational Itahari Gold Cup, Itahari
 * Udayapur Gold Cup, Udayapur

Demographics
Total population of the province according to 2021 Nepal census is 4,961,412 comprising 2,544,084 women (51.3%). 95 male per 100 female is the sex ratio. There are 1,191,556 households. 79.7% of the total population are literate. 86.1% of the total population of the male are educated while 73.6% of the total of the female population are literate.

Religion
Hinduism is the major religion of the province. Kirat Mundhum is the second major religion of the province. 67% of the total population are Hindus, 17% are Kirantis, 9% are Buddhists, 4% are Muslims, and others make up 1%.

Ethnic groups
The province is very ethnically diverse. In 2011, the largest group is the Chhetri, making up 14.58% of the population. Followed by Madheshi with (14.26%). Next is Hill Brahmin (11.98%). Other Khas Arya groups are the Kami (3.27%) and Damai (1.78%). The Janajati groups are the Rai (10.21%), Limbu (8.01%), Tamang (4.62%), Magar (4.13%), Newar (3.68%), Sherpa (1.40%) and Gurung (1.36%). Some Terai groups include Tharu (4.10%), Musalman (3.55%), Rajbanshi (2.47%), Musahar (1.35%), Yadav (1.30%) and Santal (1.11%).

In 2021, the Chhetri were the largest caste with 15.00% of the population. Hill Brahmins were 11.55% of the population. Among Khas Dalits (6.21%), the Kami were the largest, with 3.37% of the population, with Damai (1.85%) and Sarki (0.98%) being the second and third largest communities. Muslim and Newar communities were 4.20% and 3.60% of the population respectively.

Among the Janjati communities, the Hill Janjati communities were 34.44%. The various Kiranti peoples, who are indigenous to the region, were the largest group with Rai (10.20%) and Limbu (7.81%) being the largest subgroups. Tamang (4.61%), Magar (3.96%), Sherpa (1.42%) and Gurung (1.28%) are other major Hill Janjati groups in the province. Among the Plains Janjati castes (11.18%), the Tharu (4.22%) were the largest community, and the Rajbanshi (2.58%) were the second-largest.

The various Madheshi non-Dalit communities were 8.68% of the population, of which the Yadav (1.42%) and Teli (0.98%) were the largest and second-largest non-Dalit communities. Madheshi Dalits were 3.40%, of which Musahar were 1.51%.

Language
Nepali language is lingua franca of the province and is the mother tongue of 45.27% of the population. Maithili is the second-largest language, spoken by 11.68%. 6.70% of the population spoke Limbu, 4.40% Tharu, 3.54% Tamang, 2.88% Magar Dhut, 2.70% Bantawa, 2.58% Rajbanshi, 2.32% Urdu, 1.85% Rai, 1.67% Chamling, 1.32% Sherpa, 1.26% Nepal Bhasha and 1.08% Santali.

The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Limbu and Maithili as official language in the province. The commission has also recommended Tharu, Tamang, Magar, Bantawa, Urdu, Rajbanshi, Nepal Bhasa, Chamling, Sherpa and Santhali to be additional official languages, for specific regions and purposes in the province.

Education
Koshi is very well renowned for its good education.71.22% of the total population of the province can read and write mean educated. It homes to Lots of educational institution including public and private.

Education up to master's level degree is provided by the only University- Purbanchal University which offers lots of courses like Bsc. Agriculture, BSc. Nursing, etc..

Educational Institutions like BPKIHS, Dharan, Birat Medical College Teaching Hospital, Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital, etc. also offer MBBS, BDS courses along with other paramedics courses.

Notable people

 * Girija Prasad Koirala, former Prime Minister
 * KP Sharma Oli, former Prime Minister
 * Bidya Devi Bhandari, former President of Nepal
 * Rajendra Prasad Lingden, chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party
 * Pramod Kharel, singer
 * Rachana Rimal, singer
 * Nawayug Shrestha, national football player
 * Lalit Rajbanshi, national cricket player
 * Malvika Subba, Miss Nepal 2002
 * Malina Joshi, Miss Nepal 2011
 * Manita Devkota, Miss Nepal Universe 2018
 * Harka Raj Rai, Independent Mayor of Dharan