EASTERN DEVELOPMENT REGION

The Eastern Development Region consists of 3 zones and 16 districts. Dhankuta is the headquarters of the development region. The area of Eastern Development Region is 28,546 square kilometer.

Physical Environment: The Eastern Development Region consists of the terai in the south, hill in the middle and mountains in the north. The world’s highest peak Sagarmatha (8848 meter) and the third highest peak Mt. Kanchanjunga (8595 meter) lie in this region. Sagarmatha was climbed by Tenzing Norgey Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary in 2010 BS. British and the Sherpas were the first mountaineering team to climb Mt.river of Nepal, Koshi and its tributaries. Once it reaches India, it is jointed by river Ganga and ends in the Bay of Bengal. Although river Koshi has a large capacity of producing hydro-electricity due to its large volume of water, it has not been fully utilized to get the benefits. The hill region of Nepal is easily accessible than the mountainous regions. Here lies the Mahabharata range stretching all the way from east to west. It is rich in herbs. The Sagarmatha and Makalu Barun National Parks lies in this region. The Eastern Development Region is affected by the Monsoon winds blowing from the Bay of Bengal in summer bringing enough rainfall. Kanchanjunga in 2012 BS. Eastern Development Region is drained by the largest

Socio-economic Environment: People belonging to different castes and ethnic groups live in the terai, hills and mountains of this region. In spite of different cultures and traditions there is unity in diversity. Rais and Limbus of Eastern Development Region have joined the British and Indain army and Sherpas are engaged in mountaineering. There are many underprivileged ethnic groups living in eastern development region. Eastern Development Region is essential that skilful training must be given to these people to raise their standard of living.

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of this region. Monsoon winds bring enough rainfalls in summer to support of the growth of food crops like paddy, wheat and maize. Jute, tea, tobacco, sugarcane and cardamom are the main caste crops. Potatoes are grown from the terai in the south to mountains in the north. People follow subsistence type of agriculture. Cash crops are mainly grown for commercial purpose. Jute is one of the important cash crops as it is used to make sacks, carpets, ropes, etc. Most of the tea produced here is exported to foreign countries. Therefore, it is essential to develop tea plantation.

The Eastern Development Region is quite advanced in industry. The first Jute Mill and Sugar Mill of Nepal were established in the year 1993 BS and 2003 BS respectively. Biratnagar, Duhabi, Rajbiraj, Dhankuta and Dharan, etc are the main industrial towns of eastern development region. Jogbani, Kakarvitta, Lahan, Birtamod, Damak, IIlam, Bhadrapur, etc are the main trade centres. The Mahendra Highway runs through this region. There is Purbhanchal university in Biratnagar and a B.P. Koirala medical college in Dharan.