Rajbiraj

History

Rajbiraj is one of the few cities given the status of municipality when Nepal's monarchy was restored in the 1950s. Rajbiraj is the first city of Nepal to be urban planned. The Nepal government plans to develop it as a model city. Chief Engineer and Architect Dilli Jang Thapa designed Rajbiraj based on Indian city Jaipur. The city is now recognized as an educational capital of Eastern Nepal with various schools and colleges opening.

The city also has an old history with the ruins and stone samples from local Rajdevi Temple dating back to 4th century AD..

Toponymy

The city of Rajbiraj is named after Rajdevi Temple. The Meaning of Raj comes from the name of the Rajdevi temple which means state and biraj means residing.

Demography

According to the National Population Census of 2011, Rajbiraj's population was 37,738, of which male and female are 19,684 and 18,054 respectively. The effective literacy rate was 79.71%, with male literacy at 88.40% and female literacy at 70.24%. The data on religion in 2011 showed Hinduism as the majority religion. Most people follow Hinduism as a religion. The Hindu population accounts for 87%, Muslim 10.89%, Jains 1.26% and Sikhs 0.64%. The city has also community of Muslims along with Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. Rajbiraj is situated within one of the most ethnically diverse regions of Nepal, and the rural hinterland is home to a diverse cross section of Terai communities consisting of KayasthaDas, Joshi, Poudel, Shrestha, koirala, Thapa, Thapaliya, Rajdhoves, Gautam, Muslim, Brahmin, Rajput, Marwari, Tharu, Badhai, Lohar, Sonar Dhanuk.

The native dialect is Maithili which is mostly spoken in the city. After Maithili Nepali is widely spoken by Rajbirajians, and other rarely spoken language.

Road

Rajbiraj is one of the cities in Nepal that is connected by the East West Highway about 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the north and 17 kilometres (11 mi) to the east also known as Hulaki Rajmarg. It is well connected to other Nepalese cities by National Highway and Sub Highway. Buses are an important mode of intercity passenger travel.Besides that City Rickshaws and Magic(small vehicle) are another important means of travelling in local areas.

Air

Rajbiraj has its own airfield (IATA: RJB, ICAO: VNRB) with flights to Kathmandu and other airports in Nepal. The government has planned to convert the airport to an international airport.But at present the airport is not in function.

Intracity

The best way of getting around the city is by using cycle rickshaws and taxis. There are also auto rickshaws running short distances but they don't operate in the main market area.

Climate

Rajbiraj Municipal has particularly a tropical climate. The three main seasons, summer, monsoon and winter respectively. Being located in the Plain (Terai) lands of Nepal, the climate and weather of Rajbiraj is usually hot. The summer season runs from Early April to August and touches temperature ranging from 23 °C (73 °F) to 44 °C (111 °F). Monsoons arrive in the month of July heralded by dust and thunderstorms. The winter season prevails from the month of October till the month of March. Humidity, which prevails during monsoons, diminishes at the arrival of winters. The city observes pleasant sunny days and enjoyable cool nights with the temperature ranging from 6 °C (41 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F).

Rajbiraj winter season is the most appealing time to pay here a visit. Tourists arrive in large numbers, anytime between mid-September to late March or early April. Overall the January is the coldest month and June is the most hottest month in the year.

Tourism

Rajbiraj is a typical tourist city and a place to explore the interesting places in eastern Nepal. However, there are many things to do in the city. A number of colorful Hatiyaa Bazaars are held each week in different parts of the town, where farmers from the rural hinterland set up stalls to trade agricultural produce, spices and handicrafts. Rajbiraj is a hub for travel plans in Eastern Nepal. In the Rajbiraj city there are many religious Hindu temple to visit. Most of the temple are more than 200 years old. The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve famous for its wildlife, especially for bird-watching enthusiasts, is a mere 60-minute drive from the city. It is also home to the endangered wild buffaloes called "Arna" in Nepali. The Saptakoshi Bridge is also the attraction to visit it is only 25 km far from the city. Another location near Rajbiraj is Dharan (75 km), which is 2 hours journey by bus.

Festivals

Major religious celebrations include the major Hindu festivals Vijaya Dashami, Dipawali, Chhath , Holi and Vishwakarma Puja. The Chhath and Holi is heavily celebrated with a carnival-like atmosphere. The locals people take pride in the way these festivals are celebrated.

Media

Print media include the National daily Annapurna Post, Gorkhapatra, Kantipur Patrika and Nepal Samacharpatra are available. There are numerous local newspaper which covers the news of the city like Nai Ummid, Rajbiraj Dainik, Krishna Dainik, News Today Patrika and Green Madhesh Patrika. while English news daily like The Himalayan Times and The Kathmandu Post and are also available.

Telecommunications services include Nepal Telecom, Ncell and UTL. WorldLink, Broadlink and Subisu are providing broadband services in this region. To promote local culture, Rajbiraj has number of FM radio stations which are: (1)Bhorukuwa FM (2)Chhinnamasta FM (3)Apan FM (4)C FM (5)Chandrama FM (6)Jai Madhesh FM

Educational institutions

Rajbiraj has a well-established education infrastructure. There are a number of colleges and schools meeting the requirements of not only the city but the region and country as well. It is home to several Educational institutions for pre-primary, Primary, Secondary, High-Secondary, senior-secondary, graduate and post-graduate studies. Rajbiraj is an educational hub of Eastern Region of Nepal.Sai Krishna Medical College & Hospital (SKMCH),nursing colleges & +2 colleges in the city are attracting the student from neighbor district & Eastern Region of Nepal. Happyland Higher Secondary School is top school of the city as well as of Sagarmatha zone.

Sports

Kabaadi and Cricket are the most popular sports among the younger generation in the city. The city has 3 local stadiums. The sporting activities are mainly centered in the multipurpose stadium Rajbiraj Rangasala in the main city. The popular sports are cricket, football, volleyball, basketball, kabaddi, badminton etc. Freedom cricket club and Rajdevi cricket academy are the most active cricket club in the city with time stadium Rajbiraj Stadium The Mahendra Club is one of the most active organizations promoting football in the city and organizes a regional club-level annual tournament: the Saptari Gold Cup.

Cuisine

The staple diet of the region is rice, dal and curry. On the festive occasions, people prepare a number of fried items of vegetables as well as many specialties items. Fish is one of the most popular item in Rajbiraj.

Notable persons