MID-WESTERN DEVELOPMENT REGION

Mid-Western Development Region has 3 zones and 15 districts. Birendranagar is its regional headquarters. The area of Mid-Western Development Region is 42,378 square kilometer.

Physical Environment: Mid-Western Development Region has the terai in the south, the hills in the middle and the mountains in the north. This is the biggest development region in area. Most parts of Mid-Western Development Region are rocky with steep hills and mountains. At some places one can see deep valleys, tars, basins and steep barren hills. Some of the important mountain peaks are Kanjeroba, Sisne, Patarasi. There are two beautiful lakes- Rara and Foksundo. Rara lies in Mugu and Foksundo in Dolpa district. The climate is extremely dry and cold.

River Karnali and Bhari are the two important rivers. Karnali is the longest river of Nepal. There are Rara, Shey-Phoksundo and Bardia National Parks. Swargadwari is a famous religious place of Mid-Western Development Region.

Socio-economic environment: Mid-Western Development Region has the least density of population in terms of area. The northern part of Mid-Western Development Region is inhabited by Bhutias, hills by Brahmin, Chhettri, Magar, Thakuri and Tharus in the terai. The main occupation of the people is agriculture but the production is not enough due to rugged landform and dry climate. There is often scarcity of food and it has to be brought from the other regions. Because of poor diet, people are unhealthy and suffer from epidemic diseases like diarrhea and measles.

There is low literacy and life expectancy and school enrolment ratio. There is lack of transport and communication in Mid-Western Development Region. There are some small scale industries at Nepalgunj and Birendranagar. Nepalgunj is a centre of trade and is linked with Kathmandu by roads and airways. The Mahendra Highway runs from the east to the west of the terai. Recently the road from Birendranagar to Jumla has been completed. It has made the life of the people of Karnali region a bit easier. If the road can be extended up to Dolpa through Mugu and Humla, there would be a great prospect of development in Mid-Western Development Region.