Lumbini Province

Lumbini Province लुम्बिनी प्रदेश Lumbini Pradesh
Province
From Top left to right Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, World Peace Pagoda, Lumbini , Ranighat Palace, Bageshwori Temple and a Bengal tiger at Bardiya National Park
Location of Lumbini Province
Bardiya Banke Dang Rolpa Eastern Rukum Pyuthan Gulmi Argha khanchi Kapil vastu Palpa Rupan dehi NP West Karnali Province India (Uttar Pradesh) Gandaki Province Sudur Province Divisions of Lumbini
Coordinates: 27°39′33.13″N 83°26′18.3″E / 27.6592028°N 83.438417°E / 27.6592028; 83.438417
Country	Nepal
Formation	20 September 2015
Capital	Deukhuri
Largest City	Ghorahi
Districts	12
Government
• Type	Self governing province
• Body	Government of Lumbini Pradesh
• Governor	Amik Sherchan
• Chief Minister	Kul Prasad KC (CPN (MC))[1]
• High Court	Tulsipur High Court
• Provincial Assembly	Unicameral (87 seats)
• Parliamentary constituency	26
Area
• Total	22,288 km2 (8,605 sq mi)
Area rank	3rd
Highest elevation (Putha Hiunchuli)	7,246 m (23,773 ft)
Lowest elevation (Rupandehi)	90 m (300 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	4,499,272
• Rank	4th
• Density	200/km2 (520/sq mi)
• Density rank	3rd
Time zone	UTC+5:45 (NST)
Geocode	NP-FI
Official language	Nepali (51.6%)
Other Official language(s)	1. Tharu (Dangaura) 2. Awadhi
HDI	0.563 (medium)
HDI rank	4th
Literacy	66.43%
Sex ratio	90.43 ♂ /100 ♀ (2011)
GDP	5 billion USD
GDP rank	3rd
Website	http://ocmcm.p5.gov.np/

Lumbini Province (Nepali: लुम्बिनी प्रदेश, Lumbini Pradesh) is one of the seven provinces established by the constitution of Nepal.^[2] The province is Nepal's fourth most populous province and third largest province by area. Lumbini is bordered by Gandaki Province and Karnali Province to the north, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar of India to the south. Lumbini is one of the two Nepalese provinces to have an international border only with India. Lumbini's capital, Deukhuri, is near the geographic centre of the province; it is a small town which is currently being developed to meet the prerequisite of provincial capital. The major cities in this province are Butwal and Siddharthanagar in Rupandehi District, Nepalgunj in Banke District, Tansen in Palpa District, and Ghorahi and Tulsipur in Dang District.

Etymology[]

Lumbini Province is named after the holy pilgrimage site of Lumbini in the Rupandehi District, birthplace of Gautama Buddha - the founder of Buddhism. The Provincial Assembly adopted Lumbini Province as the permanent name by replacing its initial name Province No. 5 on 6 October 2020 and Deukhuri was declared the state capital of the province.^[3][4][5]

History[]

Anglo-Nepalese War[]

The Anglo-Nepalese War (1814 – 1816), was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal and the British forces of the East India Company. Nepal had won the battle against British in this region. Jitgadhi, Nuwakot Gadhi and Kathe Gadhi acted as strong defensive and offensive bases during the war.

Battle of

With the help of an ousted Palpali king, Major General Wood planned to march on Siuraj, and Nuwakot with a view to bypass the Butwal defenses, flushing out minor opposition on the axis, and assault Palpa from a less guarded flank. Nepalese Colonel Ujir Singh Thapa had deployed his 1200 troops in many defensive positions including Jit Gadhi, Nuwakot Gadhi and Kathe Gadhi. The troops under Colonel Ujir were very disciplined and he himself was a dedicated and able commander. He was famous for exploiting advantage in men, material, natural resources and well versed in mountain tactics. The British advance took place on 22nd Poush1871 BS (January 1814 AD) to Jit Gadh. While they were advancing to this fortress, crossing the Tinau River, the Nepalese troops opened fire from the fortress. Another of the attackers' columns was advancing to capture Tansen Bazar. Here too, Nepalese spoiling attacks forced the General to fall back to Gorakhpur. About 70 Nepalese lost their lives in Nuwakot Pakhe Gadhi. Meanwhile, more than 300 of the enemy perished.

Historical Districts[]

During 1942 the region was divided into several districts such as: Butwal, Deukhuri, Banke, Nuwakot, Salyan, Palpa, etc.

Geography[]

Lumbini, with an area of 22,288 square kilometers (8,605.44 sq. mi) covers about 15.1% of the country's total area. Lumbini Province is almost the size of US state of New Jersey. The province extends 150 km (93 mi) north to south and about 300 km (186 mi) east to west at its maximum width. It shares 413.14 km (256 mi) of border with India (states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh).^[6]

The Province is surrounded by hills in the north and Indo-Gangatic Plains in south. The eastern boundary is formed by the Kali Gandaki River. Lumbini Province mainly consists of Terai plains, Hills and Valleys. River basins such as Karnali, East Rapti, Babai, Gandaki and Tinau are reliable source of water and also provide potential opportunities for hydro-power generation and irrigation in the downstream. Half of the province is forested, 29% land is arable and 14% of the land is utilized for housing purpose.^[7]

Topographically, the province can be divided into five main regions starting from the North, viz.

1) High Himalayas (3.1%)

2) High Mountains (9.1%)

3) Middle Mountains/Hills (32.2%)

4) Siwalik region (27.9%)

5) Terai region (27.6%).

The highest point of the province is Putha Hiunchuli at 7,246 meters whereas lowest point is 90 meters in Rupandehi District. 43.3 percent provincial land is at an altitude of less than 500 meters. This area is mostly covered by fertile land and dense forest. 20.4 percent of area is at an altitude of 500–1000 meters. 24.2 percent land is at an altitude of 1000 to 2000meters. Similarly 7.4 percent land is at an altitude of 2000 to 3000 meters and land above 3000 meters altitude is 4.9 percent.^[8]

Climate[]

Lumbini has a humid subtropical climate and experiences four seasons. The winter in January and February is followed by summer between March and May and the monsoon season between June and September.^[9] In winter, it's sunny and mild, pleasantly warm during the day but cool at night, sometimes even cold. The average temperatures in January is around 15 °C (59 °F). But the northern parts of province gets colder and can experience snowfall. By March, the temperature rises considerably and it begins to be hot, while from April to June it's scorching hot, and highs can reach or exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in southern plains.

In June, the summer monsoon arrives, characterized by heavy rains, in the form of downpours and thunderstorms. The monsoon arrives first in the east, in early June, while in the west it comes in the middle of the month or so. The temperature decreases, with the maximum dropping to around 32 °C (90 °F) in July and August, but the humidity increases, making the heat muggy. The rains are intense especially in July and August, when they exceed 300 millimeters (12 inches) per month, but in certain areas at the foot of the mountains, they can exceed 600 mm (23.5 in) per month.^[10] The monsoon starts to withdraw by early October in the west, and about a week later in the east. The weather returns to be sunny, and even though October is still a hot month, the humidity decreases and the night temperature becomes a bit cooler.

Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in Lumbini^[11]

Location	August (°F)	August (°C)	January (°F)	January (°C)	Annual Precipitation (mm/in)
Butwal	79	26.1	55.6	13.1	1827.2/71.9
Gulariya	84.4	29.1	59.4	15.2	1503.7/59.2
Nepalgunj	84.4	29.1	59.5	15.3	1302.1/51.3
Siddharthanagar	79.7	29	55.4	15.9	1762.7/69.4
Sitganga	75.6	24.2	51.8	11	1633.2/64.3
Tansen	76.8	24.9	53.4	11.9	1949.3/76.7
Tulsipur	79.7	26.5	55.4	13	1495.4/58.9

Valleys[]

Dang-Deukhuri[]

These valleys are located in the Dang Deukhuri District. The Dang Valley lies between the Mahabharat Range in the north and the Churia Range in the south. It forms a nearly 1,000 km² (390 sq mi) plain within a local drainage basin of less than 3,000 km² (1,200 sq mi). It is drained by the Babai River, and is one of the largest Inner Terai valleys. Deukhuri Valley is southeast of the Dang Valley and extends about 60 km (37 mi) in WNW-ESE direction with a maximum width of 20 km (12 mi). It forms a nearly 600 km² (230 sq mi) plain within a drainage basin of 6,100 km² (2,400 sq mi). The valley is drained by the West Rapti River.

Other small valleys are in districts like Arghakhanchi (Rapti), Palpa (Rampur), Gulmi (Simaltari), Pyuthan (Darban and Bajipur).^[12]

Forests[]

About 15% of the total land is covered in protected forest in the province.

Forest area by districts in the province.^[13]

Districts	Forest (%)	Area (ha.th.)
Arghakhanchi	59.69	73.96
Banke	62.70	117.91
Bardiya	56.82	113.69
Dang	65.60	200.72
Gulmi	41.83	46.34
Kapilvastu	36.92	60.97
Parasi	81.30	22
Palpa	56.62	82.77
Pyuthan	48.95	64.67
Rolpa	52.82	99.60
Rukum	39.39	66.25
Rupandehi	19.54	25.51
Total	50.43	974.38

Mountains[]

Being the only mountain district of Lumbini province, most of the prominent peaks of the province lie in Eastern Rukum District along the Dhaulagiri range.^[14]

List of highest peaks of Lumbini^[15]

S/N	Mountains	Elevation (meters)	District	Range	Additional Information
1	Mount Putha I	7,246	Eastern Rukum District	Dhaulagiri Range	95th highest in the world.
2	Mount Putha II (Putha shoulder)	6,598	Eastern Rukum District	Dhaulagiri Range
3	Mount Dogari (South)	6,315	Eastern Rukum District	Dhaulagiri Range
4	Mount Samjang	5,924	Eastern Rukum District	Dhaulagiri Range
5	Hiunchuli Patan	5,916	Eastern Rukum District	Dhaulagiri Range
6	Mount Nimku	5,864	Eastern Rukum District	Dhaulagiri Range
7	Mount Sisne II	5,854	Eastern Rukum District	Dhaulagiri Range
8	Mount Sisne I	5,849	Eastern Rukum District	Dhaulagiri Range	Date of first ascent: 26/05/2021 AD[16]

Protected areas[]

• Bardiya National Park
• Banke National Park
• Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve

Demographics[]

In 2011 Lumbini had a census population of 4,499,272 with 885,203 households.^[17] Out of total population 51.68% of the provincial population is residing in the urban area.^[18]

Ethnicity[]

The province is very ethnically diverse. The largest group is the Tharu with 15.14% of the population. The second largest is Magar with 15.01%. Other Janajati communities include Newar 1.35% Other Janjati 2.62%. The Aboriginal Khas and Arya communities are Khas/Chhetri (13.60%), Hill Brahmin (12.37%), Kami (6%), Damai (1.88%), Sarki (1.48%), Thakuri (2.33%) and Sanyasi (1.15%). The Terai communities are Musalman (6.93%), Yadav (4.03%), Chamar (2.04%), Kewat (1.04%), Kahar (1.02%) and Paswan (1.01%).^[19]

Religion[]

Language[]

Nepali is the most spoken language of the province, but is also a home to Tharu community and 'Tharu language' with 600,000 speakers. The province also has many speakers of Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Urdu and Magar languages.^[20]

Languages of Lumbini (2011)^[21]

Languages	Percentage Speakers	Number of Speakers
Nepali	50.09%	2,273,980
Tharu	13.3%	595,304
Bhojpuri	11.4%	508,630
Awadhi	11.2%	497,701
Urdu	5.1%	228,371
Magar	4.6%	204,034
Maithili	1.2%	54,135
Newari	0.6%	27,413
Gurung	0.4%	19,520
Other	1.3%	56,097

Administrative subdivisions[]

There are total 109 local administrative units in the province which include 4 sub-metropolitan cities, 32 urban municipalities and 73 rural municipalities.^[22]

Districts[]

Districts in Nepal are second level of administrative divisions after provinces. Lumbini Province is divided into 12 districts, which are listed below. A district is administrated by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided to municipalities or rural municipalities.

After the state's reconstruction of administrative divisions, Nawalparasi District and Rukum District were divided into Parasi District and Nawalpur District, and Eastern Rukum District and Western Rukum District respectively.^[23]

Districts of Lumbini Province

Districts	Nepali	Headquarters	Area (km2.)	Population (2011)[24]	Official Website
Kapilvastu District	कपिलवस्तु जिल्ला	Taulihawa	1,738	571,936	[1]
Parasi District	परासी जिल्ला	Ramgram	634.88	321,058	[2]
Rupandehi District	रुपन्देही जिल्ला	Siddharthanagar	1,360	880,196	[3]
Arghakhanchi District	अर्घाखाँची जिल्ला	Sandhikharka	1,193	197,632	[4]
Gulmi District	गुल्मी जिल्ला	Tamghas	1,149	280,160	[5]
Palpa District	पाल्पा जिल्ला	Tansen	1,373	261,180	[6]
Dang District	दाङ देउखुरी जिल्ला	Ghorahi	2,955	552,583	[7]
Pyuthan District	प्युठान जिल्ला	Pyuthan	1,309	228,102	[8]
Rolpa District	रोल्पा जिल्ला	Liwang	1,879	224,506	[9]
Eastern Rukum District	पूर्वी रूकुम जिल्ला	Rukumkot	1,161.13	53,018	[10]
Banke District	बाँके जिल्ला	Nepalganj	2,337	491,313	[11]
Bardiya District	बर्दिया जिल्ला	Gulariya	2,025	426,576	[12]
Lumbini Province	लुम्बिनी प्रदेश	Deukhuri	22,288 km²	4,499,272	[13]

Municipality[]

Cities and villages are governed by municipalities in Nepal. A district may have one or more municipalities. Lumbini has two types of municipalities.

1. Urban Municipality (Urban Municipality has three levels):
   1. Metropolitan city (Mahanagarpalika)
   2. Sub-metropolitan city (Upa-mahanagarpalika) and
   3. Municipality (Nagarpalika)
2. Rural Municipality (Gaunpalika)

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

v t Largest cities or towns in Lumbini Province Central Bureau of Statistics [14]
	Rank		District	Pop.	Rank		District	Pop.
Ghorahi	1	Ghorahi	Dang	156,164	11	Shivaraj	Kapilvastu	66,781	Nepalgunj Butwal
	2	Tulsipur	Dang	141,528	12	Gulariya	Bardiya	66,679
	3	Nepalgunj	Banke	138,951	13	Buddhabhumi	Kapilvastu	64,949
	4	Butwal	Rupandehi	138,741	14	Siddharthanagar	Rupandehi	63,483
	5	Tilottama	Rupandehi	100,149	15	Krishnanagar	Kapilvastu	65,602
	6	Kapilvastu	Kapilvastu	76,394	16	Rajapur	Bardiya	59,553
	7	Banganga	Kapilvastu	75,242	17	Ramgram	Parasi	59,455
	8	Lumbini Sanskritik	Rupandehi	72,497	18	Bansgadhi	Bardiya	55,875
	9	Kohalpur	Banke	70,647	19	Sainamaina	Rupandehi	55,822
	10	Barbardiya	Bardiya	68,012	20	Sunwal	Parasi	55,424

Government[]

The Governor acts as the head of the province while the Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government. The Chief Judge of the Tulsipur High Court is the head of the judiciary.^[25] The Speaker of the Assembly is Purna Bahadur Gharti.^[26] Umakanta Jha is the first Governor of Lumbini Province.^[27] Current Governor Dharma Nath Yadav was appointed on 4 November 2019 by the President of Nepal.^[28]

Provincial Assembly[]

Lumbini provincial assembly is the unicameral legislative assembly consisting of 87 members. Candidates for each constituency are chosen by the political parties or stand as independents. Each constituency elects one member under the first past the post (FPTP) system of election. The current constitution specifies that sixty percent of the members should be elected from the first past the post system and forty percent through the party-list proportional representation (PR) system. Women should account for one third of total members elected from each party and if one-third percentage are not elected, the party that fails to ensure so shall have to elect one-third of total number as women through the party-list proportional representation.

Party		FPTP			PR			Total
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist)	572,942	31.35	26	533,613	33.10	13	38
	Nepali Congress	646,200	35.36	7	530,844	32.93	12	19
	CPN (Maoist Centre)	285,878	14.64	13	239,281	14.84	6	19
	Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal	97,892	5.36	3	78,567	4.87	2	5
	Rastriya Janata Party Nepal	54,529	2.98	0	54,110	3.36	1	1
	Rastriya Janamorcha	15,803	0.86	0	32,546	2.02	1	1
	Others	105,363	6.77	0	143,219	8.88	0	0
	Independent	49,024	2.68	0	–	–	–	0
Invalid/Blank votes		90,857	–	–	306,734	–	–	–
Total		1,918,488	100	52	1,918,914	100	35	87
Registered voters/turnout		2,740,867	70.03	–	2,740,867	70.01	–	–
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Economy[]

Lumbini province is the fastest growing province of Nepal with an annual economic growth rate of 7.1%^[29] and is third out of the seven provinces in terms of its contribution to the GDP (13%, NPR 452.79 Billion as of 2019).^[30][31][32] Agriculture, forest and tourism are the mainstay of province economy.

There are 614 commercial banks, 307 development banks, 34 finance companies, 900 Microfinance companies. Similarly, there are 272 life and 190 non life insurance companies and their branches in the province. Construction of the Gautam Buddha International Airport, establishment of industrial units in Special Economic Zone, and the opening of new hotels are expected to spur further economic growth in the province.^[33]

Agriculture[]

The province has both temperate and tropical climates and is diverse in terms of agriculture crop production potentialities. With five core terai districts, one inner terai and 6 other hill districts the province is best suited for agriculture production as the land is very fertile and good source of irrigation prevails. Sikta Irrigation project and Babai Diversion and Irrigation project have benefited the agricultural production. The major crops are paddy, mustard, wheat, maize, sugarcane, vegetables, potato, lentils and cotton.^[34] Lumbini is self-sufficient in milk, cereal crops and pulses.

Agriculture land use area in Lumbini^[35]

Land use	Percentage	Area (Hectares)
Arable Land	45.5%	404,541
Temporary Crops	44.9%	398,849
Permanent Crops	5%	44,388
Woodland/Forest	0.9%	8,343
Meadows/Pasture	0.6%	5,561
Temporary Fallow	0.5%	4,389
Temporary Meadows	0.2%	1,303
Pondes	0.1%	828
Other	2.4%	21,017

Productivity of paddy in the province is 3.91 MT per ha, which is above the national average productivity of 3.8MT per ha. Out of the total paddy production in the country Lumbini Province comprises 21.4%. Similarly 24.7% of Wheat and 13.9% Maize is produced in the province.

Irrigation[]

316,000 ha of agriculture land are irrigated through 541 irrigation systems in the province. Similarly, there are various irrigation projects under construction, namely, Bheri-Babai diversion, Babai, Sikta. After completion all these big irrigation projects will irrigate approximately 140,000 ha of land. Some irrigation projects are listed below:

• Sikta
• Babai
• Badganga
• Tinau

Industry[]

There are 522 industries registered under department of industry. Out of total number of industries Production based industry shares the highest number i.e. 418. While there are only 24 Agriculture and forestry based industry. There are 14,715 companies registered under company act in the province. Similarly, 68,334 small, cottage and micro level industries are registered in the province. These industries create an estimated 477,654 employment.^[36]

Tourism[]

Lumbini[]

Lumbini is one of the most visited place in Nepal with 1.5 million tourist arriving annually. Out of them 1,178,140 are domestic visitors.^[37]Lumbini has a number of older temples, including the Mayadevi Temple, and various new temples, funded by Buddhist organizations from various countries, have been completed or are still under construction.

The holy site of Lumbini is bordered by a large monastic zone in which only monasteries can be built, no shops, hotels or restaurants. It is separated into an eastern and western monastic zone, the eastern having the Theravadin monasteries, the western having Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries. The holy site of Lumbini has ruins of ancient monasteries, a sacred Bodhi tree, an ancient bathing pond, the Ashokan pillar and the Mayadevi Temple, a site traditionally considered to be the birthplace of the Buddha.

Bardiya National Park[]

Bardia National Park is the largest national park in the Terai, a beautiful, unspoiled wilderness of sal forest, grassland and alluvial washes cut by the many fingers of the Karnali River.

Rani Mahal[]

Constructed in 1893 by General Khadga Shumsher to commemorate his late wife Tej Kumari Devi. He gave it the name Rani Mahal, which fittingly translates to Queen's Palace. The palace is at the banks of the Kali Gandaki River, between Syangja and Palpa, 18 kilometers from Tansen.

Some popular religious and tourist centers are:

• Swargadwari
• Bageshwori Temple
• Bhairabsthan
• Resunga
• Ridi
• Ambikeshwori

Popular lakes

• Satyawati
• Jagadishpur
• Rukmini
• Jakhera

Infrastructure[]

Health Care[]

According to the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2016, the Province’s Neonatal Mortality (per 1000 live births) stands at 30 and Infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births) stands at 42, both of which are higher than the national average of 21 and 32 respectively.

The province has 670 public health facilities including 4 hub hospitals, 18 hospitals, 2 regional medical stores, 31 primary health care centers, 570 health posts, 27 urban health centers, 15 community health units and 9 other health facilities.^[38]

Education[]

The literacy rate in Lumbini Province is 66%. Different levels of education(acquired by population) can be classified as:

• Primary Level (43%),
• Lower Secondary Level (21%),
• Secondary Level (11%),
• SLC (8%),
• Intermediate Level (5%),
• Beginner (5%),
• Non-formal (4%),
• Post Graduate and Above (1%).

Universities

• Nepal Sanskrit University
• Lumbini Bauddha University

Communication[]

In Lumbini province, 49.2% of the population have access to radio and followed by 30.4% have access to TV and only 1.3% have access to the internet. Similarly, 4.4% of the population have access to landline telephone while 65.8% have access to mobile phone.There are three major cell phone providers in Lumbini Province. They are Nepal Doorsanchar Company Limited (NTC), Ncell Axiata Limited (NCELL) and Smart Cell. The coverage of Smart Cell providers is only in 5 districts.

There are a total of 66 newspaper channels in Lumbini Province with national, provincial and local outreach. As per the classification, some of the top ranking newspapers are Gorachya Dainik, Dainik Nepalgunj and Mechikali Sandesh Dainik. There are a total of 63 radio stations in the province, such as Radio Lumbini, Radio Tulsipur, Bheri F.M., etc.^[39]

Energy[]

91% of the population has access to electricity in the province. Of the 12 districts in Lumbini Province, Parasi, Kapilvastu and Bardiya have been electrified by more than 99 percent. Gulmi, Arghakhanchi and Rupandehi have more than 95 percent electrification and Rukum East has the lowest electrification of 11.25 percent.^[40] Lumbini generates 21.2 MW of electricity from hydropower.^[41] Total number of electricity consumers in the province is 457992, consuming 370.8 Million MWh of energy annually. According to NEA, Distribution and Consumer Service Directorate 93% of consumers are domestic users; loss of electricity in the province is 12.17% for the year 2076/77 (2020 AD). Out of the total loss in distribution provincial office, Gularia contributes the highest loss percentage of 25.02%.

Butwal Solar PV Project, Nepal's first private grid-connected solar power plant was connected to national transmission line on October 2020. Ridi Hydropower Company has constructed the power plant in Tilottama of Rupendehi District. With over 32,000 solar panels of 330 watts each, the plant can generate 8.5 MW of electricity.^[42]

Transportation[]

Roadways[]

Transportation routes in Lumbini evolved since H01. Lumbini has two major routes, H01 and H10 both intersecting in Butwal. 8,931 km of road is constructed in the Province. Out of which 5,293 km is blacktopped.

All 12 districts of the province are connected via blacktopped road. Major highways of the province are as follows:

1. Mahendra Highway: Mahendra highway(H01) traverses districts of Bardiya, Banke, Dang, Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, Parasi latitudinally. It connects to Bagmati to east and Sudurpaschim to the west.
2. Ratna Highway: Ratna Highway (H12) to Karnali Province. It starts at Nepal- India border in Nepalgunj and terminates at Birendranagar, Surkhet. The highway transition into Karnali Highway system from the point it terminates.
3. Rapti Highway: Rapti Highway (H11) starts from Ameliya, Dang and terminates at Musikot West Rukum. This highway makes hilly regions of Rolpa, Salyan West Rukum and east Rukum accessible.
4. Siddhartha Highway: Siddhartha Highway(H10) highway starts at Nepal-India Border in Siddharthanagar and terminates at Prithivi chowk, Pokhara. The major settlements on the highway are Siddharthanagar, Butwal, Tansen, Waling, Putalibazar, Syangja and Pokhara.

Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj have always been major trade routes with India. Lumbini has no railways but East West railway, Kathmandu-Lumbini railway and several other routes connecting Indian cities are planned.^[43][44][45]

Air Travel[]

Gautam Buddha International Airport and Nepalgunj Airport are major airstrips in the province. Being mostly flat land air travel isn't preferable but Nepalgunj Airport serves as hub for most of the airports in Karnali Province and Sudurpaschim Province. New airports are under construction in Resunga (Gulmi District) and Sandhikharka (Arghakhanchi District).^[46][47]

See also[]

• List of Provinces of Nepal
• List of Districts in Nepal
• List of Mayor of Nepal
• List of Districts of Lumbini

References[]