Damak
| Damak दमक नगरपालिका Sundar Nagari | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
 Damak Chowk | |
| Nickname(s): DMK City | |
| Motto(s): Dedicated for development and prosperity through hard work, perseverance and integrity. | |
  Damak Location in Province No. 1  Damak Damak (Nepal) | |
| Coordinates: 26°38′N 87°42′E / 26.63°N 87.70°ECoordinates: 26°38′N 87°42′E / 26.63°N 87.70°E | |
| Country |
 |
| Development Region | Eastern |
| Province | Province No. 1 |
| Zone | Mechi Zone |
| District | Jhapa District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mr. Romnath Oli (NCP) |
| • Deputy Mayor | Mrs. Gita Adhikari (NCP) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 75.13 km2 (29.01 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 71 m (233 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 75,743 |
| • Density | 1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+5:45 (NST) |
| Postal code | 57217 |
| Area code(s) | 023 |
| Website | damakmun.gov.np |
Damak (English:Dahmak) (Nepali: दमक) is one of the oldest municipalities in Jhapa District in the Mechi Zone of south-eastern Terai of Nepal. It is situated between the Ratuwa River in the east and the Maawa River in the west. It has Sivalik Hills in its north and ends with the intersection of Ratuwa River and Mawa River in the south. Mahendra Highway (longest highway of Nepal) crosses this municipality nearly bisecting it. According to Census 2011, it is the second largest city in Jhapa District with population of 105,743.[1]
Demography
The ethnicity and caste pattern of the municipality shows diversity with major ethnic groups as Bhrahman (33.09 percent), Chhetri (23.62 percent), Dhimal (6.53 percent), Limbu (6.5 percent), Newar (6.14 percent) and Rai (5.77 percent). Besides these ethnic groups other various ethnic groups comprises small proportions of the population such as, Kaami (2.88 percent), Tamang (2.51 percent) Damai/Dholi (2.35 percent). The remaining other ethnic and caste groups like Teli, Gharti/Bhujel, Magar, Sarki, Baniya, Gurung, Thakuri, Muslim, etc. comprises about 10 percent of the total population.
Elected Officials
Damak was changed to a municipality from a VDC (Village Development Committee) in the year 1981 AD. The Damak municipality consists of 1o wards,with previous 19 wards rearranged and some wards merged togethere as per population homogenity for wards. Damak also includes the large Himalayan Tea State (हिमालय गूडरिक) where the Ex-Royal Family has also invested. The municipality covers an area of 7,513 hectares and is at an average of 100 meters above the sea level. Lakhanpur in to the east, Urlabari, Rajghat and Madhumalla in the west and Chulachuli (Ilam) and Kohabhara VDC in the north and the south, respectively.
According to the census of 2011, Damak had 7,178 households containing about 36,000 people. The total area is 7,513 hectares out of which 1406.7 hectares is covered by residential area whereas 5,586.30 hectares is used for agriculture. The market area consists of 400.00 hectares, 215 hectares as forest plant area and 265.00 hectares is used in other purposes.
It is the biggest city in the Mechi zone. Pashuhat located in Damak-7 is known as the biggest cattle market in the Nepal. It is not only the largest city in Mechi zone. It is the Heart of every Nepalese people.
Health and services
In 056/057 there was 1 Health post, 1 Hospital (AMDA) and 1 Nursing Home (Life Line) which contains 50 beds in total but now including AMDA and life line: there are 7 hospital they are AMDA-Nepal,Advance Health Care Centre, life line, om mechi, Q&Q hospital, Namaste Public Hospital, Janta National Hospital, damak hospital & research center. The Population Growth Rate is 5.14 per annum as per 2047/48 census. As per 056/057 census, there were about 88 industries, 1011 shops, 244 hotels and 9 financial institutions. Black topped road were 29 km, graveled roads were 150 km and earthen road were 500 km. In addition to it, the drainage runs 3.5 km through the main highway. There are 512 street lights and above 4000 telephone lines to public. Three Bhutanese Refugees camps (Beldangi 1, 2, and 3) were also settled in Damak in 1992. Victoria Cross Medal winner Rambahadur Limbu currently lives in Damak.
It is one of the important trade center in eastern part of Nepal. There are many international organizations such as IOM, UNHCR, OX-FAM, LWF, NRCS, AMDA,CARITAS NEPAL etc. who are working for the refugees here in Damak.
Education
According to 2001 Nepal census, literacy rate of the city is 88%.[2]
Damak Multiple Campus is oldest campus in the city established in 1981. Its only the campus offering education up to master's degree. Other well known colleges include Global educational academy, Model Campus Damak (merged with Motherland English Boarding School; the one of the reputed school of Damak), Siddhartha College of Management,Bhanubhakta Acedemy,Damuna vidya mandir and Unique College having program up to bachelor's degree. Damak Multiple Campus, Damak Technical College Siddhartha College of Management are affiliated to Tribhuvan University whereas Unique College is affiliated to Purbanchal University, Nepal. Notable Schools in Damak are global educational academy, Narendra Memorial Eng Secondary School, Everest Boarding English Medium School, Purbanchal English Boarding School, Siddhartha Boarding Higher Secondary School, Oxford English Secondary School, Jhapa Model English Higher Secondary School, Sunrise Model School, Singha devi higher secondary School and Chula Chuli English Boarding School. The Himalaya Higher Secondary School, Damak, Jhapa, Shree Saraswati Higher Secondary School, Ithabhatta are one of the reputed and old government school. The Oxford English Secondary School is a school located at Damak. Besides there is a renowned missionary school run by Cluny Sisters of St. Joseph's Convent. The mission school is named as Suryodaya English School popularly known as 'Father Boarding' owing to founder of the school Father L Harvey who started the school in early 80's(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suryodaya_English_School). Allied English Boarding School is also a reputed along these. School Data
- Primary – 1038
- Lower Secondary – 700
- Secondary – 1408
- Technical School Under CTEVT – 490
- Higher Secondary – 1500
- Affiliated Campus – 9
- University – 0 (1 needed for almost 50,000 students in Damak)
Communication and entertainment
Nepal Telecom Damak Branch serves as the center for Telecommunication and Cellular with two huge Skyline Towers. Whereas Axiatas's Ncell is also popular in the city having 82 small and One huge tower installed for the fastest connectivity.There are 3 cellular providers in Damak, Ncell,NTC and UTL. Here, Ncell is providing 4G service and NTC is providing 3G internet service in the area.
Damak has five FM stations named Radio Himshikhar(103.3Mhz), Star FM(92Mhz), Radio Jhapa (100.7Mhz), Saptarangi FM(101.6mHZ) and Pathibhara FM(93.6MHZ).[3] But national radio station Radio Nepal and other surrounding FM stations Kanchanjungha FM, Saptakoshi FM, Koshi FM, Kantipur FM can clearly be heard in the city. Damak is also broadcasting the television channel named Himshikhar Television from a couple of years and running successfully in the region. A new TV channel named Jagriti CT channel is also currently broadcasting in Damak. There used to be two TV DTH providers named National cable and another Kankai cable( which later merged with National cable and started its services with the name Jagriti National Cable) in Damak.
References
- ↑ "National Population and Housing Census 2011" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics. Government of Nepal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
- ↑ "Nepal Census 2001".
- ↑ "Saptarangi FM official website". theowner. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Damak, Jhapa. |
