199-786: The Gandaki River , also known as the Narayani and Gandak , is one of the major rivers in Nepal and a left-bank tributary of the Ganges in India. Its total catchment area is 46,300 km (17,900 sq mi), most of it in Nepal. In the Nepal Himalayas , the Gandaki is notable for its deep canyon . The basin also contains three mountains over 8,000 m (26,000 ft), namely Dhaulagiri , Manaslu and Annapurna Massif . Dhaulagiri
398-572: A Gorkha king, set out to put together what would become present-day Nepal. He embarked on his mission by securing the neutrality of the bordering mountain kingdoms. After several bloody battles and sieges, notably the Battle of Kirtipur , he managed to conquer the Kathmandu Valley in 1769. The Gorkha control reached its height when the Kumaon and Garhwal Kingdoms in the west to Sikkim in
597-402: A Thakuri rule. Thakuri kings ruled over the country up to the middle of the 11th century AD; not much is known of this period that is often called the dark period. In the 11th century, a powerful empire of Khas people emerged in western Nepal whose territory at its highest peak included much of western Nepal as well as parts of western Tibet and Uttarakhand of India. By the 14th century,
796-652: A water sharing dispute arose between India and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after India declared its intention to build the Farakka Barrage. The original purpose of the barrage, which was completed in 1975, was to divert up to 1,100 m /s (39,000 cu ft/s) of water from the Ganges to the Bhagirathi-Hooghly distributary to restore navigability at the Port of Kolkata . It was assumed that during
995-455: A "partyless" Panchayat system was made to govern Nepal. The political parties were banned and politicians imprisoned or exiled. The Panchayat rule modernised the country, introducing reforms and developing infrastructure, but curtailed liberties and imposed heavy censorship. In 1990, the People's Movement forced King Birendra (ruled 1972–2001) to accept constitutional reforms and to establish
1194-784: A 1998 report by the Zoological Survey of India , the sanctuary has 53 mammals, 145 birds, 26 reptile and 13 amphibians and a Tiger Reserve. The notable species of wild fauna include: tiger, leopard, wild dog, wild boar, bison, bear, peacock, partridge, hornbill, hill mynah , woolly-necked stork, python, crocodile, deer, sambar , blue bull, barking deer, hog deer. As per the Botanical Survey of India report of 1998 there are seven types of vegetation consisting of seven classes of forests; home to 84 species of trees (subtropical trees such as sal , sagwan, bamboo, and cane), 32 shrubs and climbers and 81 herbs and grasses. Between
1393-502: A bond of allegiance to the national independence, territorial integrity, national interest, and prosperity of Nepal. The Government of Nepal has three branches: Nepal is a federal republic comprising 7 provinces . Each province is composed of 8 to 14 districts. The districts, in turn, comprise local units known as urban and rural municipalities. There is a total of 753 local units which includes 6 metropolitan municipalities, 11 sub-metropolitan municipalities and 276 municipalities for
1592-658: A collection of some 10,000 human-made caves dug into the sides of valleys in the Mustang District of Nepal . The caves lie on the steep valley walls near the Kali Gandaki River in Upper Mustang . Several groups of archaeologists and researchers have explored these stacked caves and found partially mummified human bodies and skeletons that are at least 2,000-3,000 years old. Explorations of these caves by conservators and archaeologists have also led to
1791-450: A committee composed of all elected officials from the local governments in the district, has a very limited role. The Constitution of Nepal is the supreme law of the land, and any other laws contradicting it are automatically invalid to the extent of the contradiction. The specific legal provisions are codified as Civil Code and Criminal Code, accompanied by Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Procedure Code respectively. The Supreme Court
1990-467: A land of spirituality and refuge in the intervening centuries, played an important role in transmitting Buddhism to East Asia via Tibet, and helped preserve Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts. By 250 BC, the southern regions had come under the influence of the Maurya Empire . Emperor Ashoka made a pilgrimage to Lumbini and erected a pillar at Buddha's birthplace, the inscriptions on which mark
2189-438: A member of WTO since 23 April 2004. The 16.8-million-worker Nepali labour force is the 37th largest in the world. The primary sector makes up 27.59% of GDP, the secondary sector 14.6%, and the tertiary sector 57.81%. Nepal's foreign exchange remittances of US$ 8.1 billion in 2018, the 19th largest in the world and constituting 28.0% of GDP, were contributed to its economy by millions of workers primarily in India,
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#17327659092902388-607: A multiparty democracy. In 1996, the Maoist Party started a violent bid to replace the royal parliamentary system with a people's republic. This led to the long Nepali Civil War and more than 16,000 deaths. With the death of both the King and the Crown Prince in a massacre in the royal palace , King Birendra's brother Gyanendra inherited the throne in 2001 and subsequently assumed full executive powers aiming to quash
2587-666: A new channel. This new main channel of the Brahmaputra is called the Jamuna River. It flows south to join the Ganges-Padma. During ancient times, the main flow of the Brahmaputra was more easterly, passing by the city of Mymensingh and joining the Meghna River. Today this channel is a small distributary but retains the name Brahmaputra, sometimes Old Brahmaputra. The site of the old Brahmaputra-Meghna confluence, in
2786-482: A place protected by Ne , the country in the heart of the Himalayas came to be known as Nepāl . According to Nepāl Mahātmya , Nemi was charged with protection of the country by Pashupati . According to Buddhist mythology , Manjushri Bodhisattva drained a primordial lake of serpents to create the Nepal valley and proclaimed that Adi-Buddha Ne would take care of the community that would settle it. As
2985-583: A power station in Nepal and eastern canal system. As a part of this bilateral agreement, the Gandak Barrage, a part of Gandak Project, was built in 1968–69 over the Gandak river for providing irrigation to Nepal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The irrigation potential of this project is 11,510 km (4,440 sq mi), spread in the district of West Champaran, East Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Saran, Siwan and Gopalganj. The Eastern Gandak Canal Project
3184-558: A quarter of the total forested area has helped the local economies while reducing human-wildlife conflict . The breeding programmes coupled with community-assisted military patrols, and a crackdown on poaching and smuggling, has seen poaching of critically endangered tigers and elephants as well as vulnerable rhinos, among others, go down to effectively zero, and their numbers have steadily increased. Nepal has ten national parks , three wildlife reserves , one hunting reserve , three Conservation Areas and eleven buffer zones , covering
3383-410: A religious iconoclast himself, asked for a handful of his ashes to be thrown into the Ganges. "The Ganga", he wrote in his will, "is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her racial memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever-changing, ever-flowing, and yet ever
3582-509: A sacred river to Hindus along every fragment of its length. All along its course, Hindus bathe in its waters, paying homage to their ancestors and their gods by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it, and letting it fall back into the river; they offer flowers and rose petals and float shallow clay dishes filled with oil and lit with wicks (diyas). On the journey back home from the Ganges, they carry small quantities of river water with them for use in rituals; Ganga Jal, literally "the water of
3781-435: A sage, Kapila , whose intense meditation has been disturbed by the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara . Livid at being disturbed, Kapila sears them with his angry gaze, reduces them to ashes, and dispatches them to the netherworld. Only the waters of the Ganges, then in heaven, can bring the dead sons their salvation. A descendant of these sons, King Bhagiratha , anxious to restore his ancestors, undertakes rigorous penance and
3980-518: A series of inscriptions; Nepal's history of the period is pieced together almost entirely from them. In 641, Songtsen Gampo of the Tibetan Empire sends Narendradeva back to Licchavi with an army and subjugates Nepal. Parts of Nepal and Licchavi was later under the direct influences of the Tibetan empire. The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late 8th century and was followed by
4179-555: A sheer-sided, deep canyon before widening at the steel footbridge at Chele, where part of its flow funnels through a rock tunnel, and from this point the now wide river is called the Kali Gandaki on all maps. In Kagbeni a major tributary named Johng Khola, Kak Khola or Krishnaa descends from Muktinath . The river then flows southward through a steep gorge known as the Kali Gandaki Gorge , or Andha Galchi , between
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#17327659092904378-606: A single block of polished sandstone, measuring 35 feet (11 m) in height with a diameter of 35" at the base and 22" at the top, which is believed to be over 2,300 years old, is in an excellent condition. Its massiveness and exquisite finish furnish striking proof of the skill and resources of the masons of Ashokan age. Two more such pillars with their capitals removed have been discovered in Rampurwa village, close to Gandhi's Bhitiharawa Ashram in Gaunaha block. One of their capitals,
4577-490: A substratum of a race of pre-Dravidians and Dravidians, who were in Nepal even before the Newars, who formed the majority of the ancient inhabitants of the valley of Kathmandu. By the late Vedic period , Nepal was being mentioned in various Hindu texts, such as the late Vedic Atharvaveda Pariśiṣṭa and in the post-Vedic Atharvashirsha Upanishad . The Gopal Bansa was the oldest dynasty to be mentioned in various texts as
4776-538: A total area of 28,959.67 km (11,181.39 sq mi), or 19.67% of the total land area, while ten wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention . Nepal has consistently been ranked as one of the most polluted countries in the world. Nepal is a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Nepal has been referred as the 'Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal' since 2015. It has seven national political parties recognised in
4975-501: A total of 293 urban municipalities, and 460 rural municipalities. Each local unit is composed of wards. There are 6,743 wards in total. The local governments enjoy executive and legislative as well as limited judicial powers in their local jurisdiction. The provinces have unicameral parliamentary Westminster system of governance. The local and provincial governments exercise some absolute powers and some powers shared with provincial or federal government. The district coordination committee,
5174-516: A view that Nepal remained the true bastion of unadulterated Hinduism at a time when Indian culture had been influenced by centuries of Mughal, followed by British rule . Gorkha , one of the Baisi states, emerged as an influential and ambitious kingdom with a reputation for justice, after it codified the first Hinduism-based laws in the Nepalese hills. In the mid-18th century, Prithvi Narayan Shah ,
5373-529: Is $ 1,004. The distribution of wealth among the Nepalis is consistent with that in many developed and developing countries: the highest 10% of households control 39.1% of the national wealth and the lowest 10% control only 2.6%. European Union (EU) (46.13%), the US (17.4%), and Germany (7.1%) are its main export partners; they mainly buy Nepali ready-made garments (RMG). Nepal's import partners include India (47.5%),
5572-432: Is 59,624 km (23,021 sq mi), 40.36% of the country's total land area, with an additional 4.38% of scrubland , for a total forested area of 44.74%, an increase of 5% since the turn of the millennium. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.23/10, ranking it 45th globally out of 172 countries. In the southern plains, Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion contains some of
5771-562: Is 625 km (388 mi) long, with a drainage basin of 25,820 km (9,970 sq mi). The Hooghly River empties into the Bay of Bengal near Sagar Island . Between Malda and the Bay of Bengal, the Hooghly river passes the towns and cities of Murshidabad , Nabadwip , Kolkata and Howrah . After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges river is known as the Padma . The Padma
5970-440: Is Nepal's largest trading partner, which it depends upon for all of its oil and gas, and a number of essential goods. Nepalis can own property in India, while Indians are free to live and work in Nepal. Relations between India and Nepal, though very close, have faced difficulties stemming from territorial disputes , economics, and the problems inherent in big power-small power relations. Nepal established diplomatic relations with
6169-593: Is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh . The 2,525 km (1,569 mi)-long river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand . It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India , receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna , which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for
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6368-594: Is a vulgarism of sanskritic Nepala, or Nepala is Sanskritisation of the local ethnic; his view has found some support though it does not answer the question of etymology. It has also been proposed that Nepa is a Tibeto-Burman stem consisting of Ne (cattle) and Pa (keeper), reflecting the fact that early inhabitants of the valley were Gopalas (cowherds) and Mahispalas (buffalo-herds). Suniti Kumar Chatterji believed Nepal originated from Tibeto-Burman roots – Ne, of uncertain meaning (as multiple possibilities exist), and pala or bal , whose meaning
6567-401: Is a habitat for 4.0% of all mammal species , 8.9% of bird species , 1.0% of reptile species , 2.5% of amphibian species , 1.9% of fish species , 3.7% of butterfly species , 0.5% of moth species and 0.4% of spider species . In its 35 forest-types and 118 ecosystems, Nepal harbours 2% of the flowering plant species , 3% of pteridophytes and 6% of bryophytes . Nepal's forest cover
6766-558: Is a small town with scattered habitation, mostly within the forest area and has a railroad station in the district of West Champaran, close to the railhead of Bagaha . It has diverse landscapes, sheltering rich wildlife habitats and floral and faunal composition with the prime protected carnivores and was included in the National Conservation Programme of the Project Tiger in the year 1994. According to
6965-505: Is about $ 13.71 billion (FY 2019/20); expenditure of infrastructure development budget, most of it contributed by foreign aid, usually fails to meet the target. The country receives foreign aid from the UK, India, Japan, the US, the EU, China, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries. The Nepali rupee has been tied to the Indian rupee at an exchange rate of 1.6 for many years. Per capita income
7164-697: Is about 1,080,000 km (420,000 sq mi), of which 861,000 km (332,000 sq mi) is in India (about 80%), 140,000 km (54,000 sq mi) in Nepal (13%), 46,000 km (18,000 sq mi) in Bangladesh (4%), and 33,000 km (13,000 sq mi) in China (3%). Sometimes the Ganges and Brahmaputra–Meghna drainage basins are combined for a total of about 1,600,000 km (620,000 sq mi) or 1,621,000 km (626,000 sq mi). The combined Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin (abbreviated GBM or GMB) drainage basin
7363-450: Is at an elevation of 2,520 metres (8,270 ft), which is 5,571 metres (18,278 ft) lower than Annapurna I. The river is older than the Himalayas. As tectonic activity forces the mountains higher, the river has cut through the uplift. South of the gorge, the river is joined by Rahughat Khola at Galeshwor, Myagdi Khola at Beni , Modi Khola near Kushma and Badigaad at Rudrabeni above Ridi Bazaar. The river then turns east to run along
7562-684: Is different ways to determine the river's length, its discharge , and the size of its drainage basin . The name Ganges is used for the river between the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers, in the Himalayas, and the first bifurcation of the river, near the Farakka Barrage and the India-Bangladesh Border. The length of the Ganges is frequently said to be slightly over 2,600 km (1,600 mi) long, about 2,601 km (1,616 mi), 2,525 km (1,569 mi) or 2,650 km (1,650 mi). In these cases
7761-476: Is eventually granted the prize of Ganges's descent from heaven. However, since her turbulent force would also shatter the earth, Bhagiratha persuades Shiva in his abode on Mount Kailash to receive the Ganges in the coils of his tangled hair and break her fall. The Ganges descends, is tamed in Shiva's locks, and arrives in the Himalayas. She is then led by the waiting Bhagiratha down into the plains at Haridwar, across
7960-452: Is expected to eradicate poverty within 20 years. The agriculture sector is particularly vulnerable as it is highly dependent on the monsoon rains, with just 28% of the arable land being irrigated, As of 2014 . Agriculture employs 76% of the workforce, services 18%, and manufacturing and craft-based industry 6%. Private investment, consumption, tourism and agriculture are the principal contributors to economic growth. The government's budget
8159-555: Is home to approximately 140 species of fish, 90 species of amphibians , and also reptiles and mammals , including critically endangered species such as the gharial and South Asian river dolphin . The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus . It is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism . The Ganges is threatened by severe pollution . This not only poses a danger to humans but also to many species of animals. The levels of fecal coliform bacteria from human waste in
Gandaki River - Misplaced Pages Continue
8358-536: Is in a ruined state but its remains are well defined. The Bhitiharawa Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi near Gaunaha in the eastern end of the Valmiki reserve. It is a village in Gaunaha block in Bihar from where Gandhiji started his freedom movement that came to be known as 'Champaran Satyagraha' in India history. The village houses the hut which is called Ashram and has become a place of Gandhian pilgrimage. Mustang caves are
8557-585: Is intended for crowd control, counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism actions, and other internal matters where the use of force may be necessary. The Crime Investigation Department of Nepal Police specialises in criminal investigation and forensic analysis. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority is an independent investigative agency that investigates and prosecutes cases related to corruption, bribery and abuses of authority. At 2.16 per 100,000 in 2016, Nepal's intentional homicide rate
8756-473: Is intertwined with the culture of Indo-Aryans , and was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala . The Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valley's traders . The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture . By the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal . The Shah dynasty established
8955-783: Is joined by the Jamuna River , the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra . Further downstream, the Padma joins the Meghna River , the converged flow of Surma-Meghna River System taking on the Meghna's name as it enters the Meghna Estuary, which empties into the Bay of Bengal. Here it forms the 1,430 by 3,000 km (890 by 1,860 mi) Bengal Fan , the world's largest submarine fan , which alone accounts for 10–20% of
9154-522: Is longer than its main outlet via the Meghna River, resulting in a total length of about 2,704 km (1,680 mi), if taken from the source of the Bhagirathi, or 2,321.50 km (1,442.51 mi), if from Haridwar to the Hooghly's mouth. In other cases the length is said to be about 2,304 km (1,432 mi), from the source of the Bhagirathi to the Bangladesh border, where its name changes to Padma . For similar reasons, sources differ over
9353-711: Is lost entirely. By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans had arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa, where they had earlier evolved. The earliest known modern human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago. The oldest discovered archaeological evidence of human settlements in Nepal dates to around the same time. After 6500 BC, evidence for the domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in Mehrgarh and other sites in what
9552-494: Is much lower than average; police data indicates a steady increase in the crime rate in recent years. Nepal was ranked 76 out of 163 countries in the Global Peace Index (GPI) in 2019. Nepal's passport has consistently been ranked among the weakest in the world. Nepal depends on diplomacy for national defence. It maintains a policy of neutrality between its neighbours, has amicable relations with other countries in
9751-538: Is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor , and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim . Nepal has a diverse geography , including fertile plains , subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains , including Mount Everest , the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the largest city . Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural state, with Nepali as
9950-603: Is now Balochistan . These gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation , the first urban culture in South Asia. Prehistoric sites of palaeolithic , mesolithic and neolithic origins have been discovered in the Siwalik hills of Dang district . The earliest inhabitants of modern Nepal and adjoining areas are believed to be people from the Indus Valley Civilisation . It is possible that
10149-689: Is rescued by a celestial chariot which takes him instead to heaven. Nepal Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal , is a landlocked country in South Asia . It is mainly situated in the Himalayas , but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain . It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north , and India to the south, east, and west , while it
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#173276590929010348-836: Is spread across Bangladesh, Bhutan , India, Nepal, and China. The Ganges basin ranges from the Himalaya and the Transhimalaya in the north, to the northern slopes of the Vindhya range in the south, from the eastern slopes of the Aravalli in the west to the Chota Nagpur plateau and the Sunderbans delta in the east. A significant portion of the discharge from the Ganges comes from the Himalayan mountain system. Within
10547-403: Is the high point of the Ganges basin. The other peaks over 8,000m in the basin are Kangchenjunga , Lhotse , Makalu , Cho Oyu , Dhaulagiri , Manaslu , Annapurna and Shishapangma . The Himalayan portion of the basin includes the south-eastern portion of the state of Himachal Pradesh, the entire state of Uttarakhand, the entire country of Nepal and the extreme north-western portion of
10746-589: Is the highest authority in the interpretation of laws and it can direct the parliament to amend or enact new laws as required. The death penalty has been abolished. It recognises marital rape and supports abortion rights. Owing to a rise in sex-selective abortion, however, constraints have been introduced. Nepal is a signatory to the Geneva Convention , Conventions/Treaties on the prohibition of Biological , Chemical and Nuclear weapons , International Labour Organization Fundamental Conventions , Treaty on
10945-710: Is the highest point of the Gandaki basin. In its upper reaches, the river is known as Kali Gandaki (or Gandaki) as it flows through the Mustang district and the famous Kali Gandaki Gorge in Nepal. When the river reaches the Terai plains of Nepal, it is referred to as the Narayani River. This name change typically occurs near the confluence with the Trishuli River at Devghat in Chitwan . Upon entering India,
11144-525: Is the lowland region containing some hill ranges. The plains were formed and are fed by three major Himalayan rivers: the Koshi , the Narayani , and the Karnali as well as smaller rivers rising below the permanent snowline. This region has a subtropical to tropical climate. The outermost range of the foothills called Sivalik Hills or Churia Range, cresting at 700 to 1,000 metres (2,300 to 3,280 ft), marks
11343-592: Is the primary law enforcement agency. It is an independent organisation under the command of the Inspector General , who is appointed by and reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs . In addition to maintaining law and order, it is responsible for the management of road traffic, which is undertaken by Nepal Traffic Police. Nepal Armed Police Force , a separate paramilitary police organisation, works in cooperation with Nepal police in routine security matters; it
11542-420: Is the southern limit of this region, with subtropical river valleys and "hills" alternating to the north of this range. Population density is high in valleys but notably less above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and very low above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), where snow occasionally falls in winter. The southern lowland plains or Terai bordering India are part of the northern rim of the Indo-Gangetic Plain . Terai
11741-576: Is used in Hindu ritual and is therefore present in all sacred waters. Despite this, nothing is more stirring for a Hindu than a dip in the actual river, which is thought to remit sins, especially at one of the famous tirthas such as Varanasi , Gangotri , Haridwar , or the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj . The symbolic and religious importance of the Ganges is one of the few things that Hindus, even their skeptics, have agreed upon. Jawaharlal Nehru,
11940-460: Is widely used in traditional herbal medicine , and the luxuriant Ficus religiosa , or peepal , which is displayed on the ancient seals of Mohenjo-daro , and under which Gautam Buddha is recorded in the Pali canon to have sought enlightenment. Most of the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest of the lower Himalayan region is descended from the Tethyan Tertiary flora. As the Indian Plate collided with Eurasia forming and raising
12139-872: The Bay of Bengal . The Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna system is the second-largest river on earth by discharge . The main stem of the Ganges begins at the town of Devprayag , at the confluence of the Alaknanda , which is the source stream in hydrology on account of its greater length, and the Bhagirathi , which is considered the source stream in Hindu mythology . The Ganges is a lifeline to tens of millions of people who live in its basin and depend on it for their daily needs. It has been important historically, with many former provincial or imperial capitals such as Pataliputra , Kannauj , Sonargaon , Dhaka , Bikrampur , Kara , Munger , Kashi , Patna , Hajipur , Kanpur , Delhi , Bhagalpur , Murshidabad , Baharampur , Kampilya , and Kolkata located on its banks or those of its tributaries and connected waterways. The river
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#173276590929012338-411: The Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountain ranges, the Gandaki River flows through the village of Muktinath and by the Ashram of Pulaha. In ancient times, the mountain range surrounding Pulaha was called Salagiris due to the vast forests of sal trees. The stones found in this region are therefore called Saligrama – Silas. It has great significance to Hindus, particularly to Brahmins. Smarthas uses this as
12537-432: The Dravidian people whose history predates the onset of the Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent (around 6300 BC) inhabited the area before the arrival of other ethnic groups like the Tibeto-Burmans and Indo-Aryans from across the border. By 4000 BC, the Tibeto-Burmese people had reached Nepal either directly across the Himalayas from Tibet or via Myanmar and north-east India or both. Stella Kramrisch (1964) mentions
12736-459: The Ganga near Patna just downstream of Hajipur at Sonpur . Its drainage area in India is 7,620 km (2,940 sq mi). From its exit from the outermost Siwaliks foothills to the Ganga , the Gandak has built an immense megafan comprising Eastern Uttar Pradesh and North Western Bihar in the Middle Gangetic Plains . The Gandaki river basin is reported to contain 1025 glaciers and 338 lakes. These contribute substantially to
12935-425: The Hooghly River . Just before the border with Bangladesh the Farakka Barrage controls the flow of Ganges, diverting some of the water into a feeder canal linked to the Hooghly for the purpose of keeping it relatively silt-free. The Hooghly River is formed by the confluence of the Bhagirathi River and Ajay River at Katwa , and Hooghly has a number of tributaries of its own. The largest is the Damodar River , which
13134-405: The Indo-Gangetic Plain . The Indo-Gangetic Plain is geologically known as a foredeep or foreland basin . Major left-bank tributaries include the Gomti River, Ghaghara River, Gandaki River and Kosi River; major right-bank tributaries include the Yamuna River, Son River, Punpun and Damodar. The hydrology of the Ganges River is very complicated, especially in the Ganges Delta region. One result
13333-402: The Kaimur Range and contributes an average flow of about 187 m /s (6,600 cu ft/s). After the Tamsa, the 625 km (388 mi) long Gomti River joins, flowing south from the Himalayas. The Gomti contributes an average annual flow of about 234 m /s (8,300 cu ft/s). Then the 1,156 km (718 mi) long Ghaghara River (Karnali River), also flowing south from
13532-404: The Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire , under its Rana dynasty of premiers . The country was never colonised but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India . Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in
13731-429: The Mahabharata , in one of its popular ślokas , says, "If only (one) bone of a (deceased) person should touch the water of the Ganges, that person shall dwell honoured in heaven." As if to illustrate this truism, the Kashi Khanda (Varanasi Chapter) of the Skanda Purana recounts the remarkable story of Vahika , a profligate and unrepentant sinner, who is killed by a tiger in the forest. His soul arrives before Yama ,
13930-409: The Shraddha rites. Hindus also perform pinda pradana , a rite for the dead, in which balls of rice and sesame seed are offered to the Ganges while the names of the deceased relatives are recited. Every sesame seed in every ball thus offered, according to one story, assures a thousand years of heavenly salvation for each relative. Indeed, the Ganges is so important in the rituals after death that
14129-473: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), of which it is a founding member. Nepal is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Bay of Bengal Initiative . Before the unification of Nepal , the Kathmandu Valley was known as Nepal . The precise origin of the term Nepāl is uncertain. Nepal appears in ancient Indian literary texts dated as far back as the fourth century AD. An absolute chronology can not be established, as even
14328-598: The Vishnupadi , which until now had been circling the cosmic egg. Flowing out of the vault, she plummets down to Indra's heaven, where she is received by Dhruva , once a steadfast worshipper of Vishnu, now fixed in the sky as the Pole star . Next, she streams across the sky forming the Milky Way and arrives on the moon. She then flows down earthwards to Brahma 's realm, a divine lotus atop Mount Meru , whose petals form
14527-440: The eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, with notable biocultural diversity . The dramatic differences in elevation found in Nepal (60 m from sea level in the Terai plains, to 8,848 m Mount Everest ) result in a variety of biomes . The Eastern half of Nepal is richer in biodiversity as it receives more rain, compared to western parts, where arctic desert -type conditions are more common at higher elevations. Nepal
14726-725: The endangered Bengal tiger , the red panda , the Asiatic elephant , the Himalayan musk deer , the wild water buffalo and the South Asian river dolphin , as well as the critically endangered gharial , the Bengal florican , and the white-rumped vulture , which has become nearly extinct by having ingested the carrion of diclofenac -treated cattle. The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered Nepali wildlife . In response,
14925-470: The new constitution was promulgated on 20 September 2015, making Nepal a federal democratic republic divided into seven provinces . Nepal is of roughly trapezoidal shape, about 800 kilometres (500 mi) long and 200 kilometres (120 mi) wide, with an area of 147,516 km (56,956 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 26° and 31°N , and longitudes 80° and 89°E . Nepal's defining geological processes began 75 million years ago when
15124-656: The 1970s, which led to the eventual coalescence of hitherto scattered communist factions under the United Left Front . After the joint civil resistance launched by the United Left Front and Nepali Congress overthrew the Panchayat in 1990, the Front became CPN (UML) , adopted multi-party democracy, and in the brief period, it was in government, introduced welfare programmes that remain popular. After
15323-415: The 3,000 m to 3,500 m range, dominated by oak (particularly in the west), Eastern Himalayan fir , Himalayan pine and Himalayan hemlock ; rhododendron is common as well. Above 3,500 m in the west and 4,000 m in the east, coniferous trees give way to rhododendron-dominated alpine shrubs and meadows . Among the notable trees, are the astringent Azadirachta indica , or neem , which
15522-488: The 729 km (453 mi) long Kosi River , join from the north flowing from Nepal, contributing about 1,654 m /s (58,400 cu ft/s) and 2,166 m /s (76,500 cu ft/s), respectively. The Kosi is the third largest tributary of the Ganges by discharge, after Ghaghara (Karnali) and Yamuna. The Kosi merges into the Ganges near Kursela in Bihar . Along the way between Prayagraj and Malda , West Bengal ,
15721-743: The Alaknanda, Dhauliganga , Nandakini , Pindar , Mandakini and Bhagirathi. Their confluences, known as the Panch Prayag , are all along the Alaknanda. They are, in downstream order, Vishnuprayag , where the Dhauliganga joins the Alaknanda; Nandprayag , where the Nandakini joins; Karnaprayag , where the Pindar joins; Rudraprayag , where the Mandakini joins; and finally, Devprayag, where
15920-459: The Arctic zone above 4,400 metres (14,400 ft). Nepal experiences five seasons: summer, monsoon , autumn, winter and spring. The Himalayas block cold winds from Central Asia in the winter and form the northern limits of the monsoon wind patterns. Nepal contains a disproportionately large diversity of plants and animals, relative to its size. Nepal, in its entirety, forms the western portion of
16119-595: The Bhagirathi joins the Alaknanda to form the Ganges. After flowing for 256.90 km (159.63 mi) through its narrow Himalayan valley, the Ganges emerges from the mountains at Rishikesh , then debouches onto the Gangetic Plain at the pilgrimage town of Haridwar . At Haridwar, a headworks diverts some of its water into the Ganges Canal , which irrigates the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh , whereas
16318-602: The Brahmaputra, and the Surma-Meghna river system. In full flood only the Amazon is larger. The Indian subcontinent lies atop the Indian tectonic plate , a minor plate within the Indo-Australian Plate . Its defining geological processes commenced seventy-five million years ago, when, as a part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana , it began a northeastwards drift —lasting fifty million years—across
16517-589: The British underestimated the Nepali and were soundly defeated until committing more military resources than they had anticipated needing. Thus began the reputation of Gurkhas as fierce and ruthless soldiers. The war ended in the Sugauli Treaty , under which Nepal ceded recently captured lands. Factionalism inside the royal family led to a period of instability. In 1846, a plot was discovered revealing that
16716-476: The Gandak basin projects contribute more than 266 MW, about 44%. The hydropower projects built are the Trisuli at Nuwakot (21 MW), Devighat at Nuwakot (14 MW), Pokhra (1 MW) and Western Gandak HEP, at Nawalparasi (15 MW), Marsyangdi at Tanahu (69 MW), Kali Gandaki at Syanja (144 MW), and Syange (2 MW). Middle Marsyangdi HE Project (70 MW) at Lamjung is under final stage of construction. Several major projects are on
16915-401: The Ganges 10 km from Patna) and Sonepur (also Known as Harihar Kshetra), near Patna. Chitwan National Park of Nepal and Valmiki National Park of India are adjacent to each other in the vicinity of Valmikinagar around the Gandak Barrage. Chitwan National Park covers an area of 932 square kilometres (360 sq mi). Established in 1973, it is the oldest national park of Nepal. It
17114-431: The Ganges flow at Farakka was less than 2,000 m /s (71,000 cu ft/s) then India and Bangladesh would each receive 50% of the water, with each receiving at least 1,000 m /s (35,000 cu ft/s) for alternating ten-day periods. However, within a year the flow at Farakka fell to levels far below the historic average, making it impossible to implement the guaranteed sharing of water. In March 1997, flow of
17313-401: The Ganges in Bangladesh dropped to its lowest ever, 180 m /s (6,400 cu ft/s). Dry season flows returned to normal levels in the years following, but efforts were made to address the problem. One plan is for another barrage to be built in Bangladesh at Pangsha , west of Dhaka . This barrage would help Bangladesh better utilize its share of the waters of the Ganges. The Ganges is
17512-478: The Ganges river passes the towns of Chunar , Mirzapur , Varanasi , Ghazipur , Ara , Patna , Chapra , Hajipur , Mokama , Begusarai , Munger , Sahibganj , Rajmahal , Bhagalpur , Ballia , Buxar , Simaria , Sultanganj , and Farakka . At Bhagalpur, the river begins to flow south-southeast and at Farakka, it begins its attrition with the branching away of its first distributary , the 408 km (254 mi) long Bhāgirathi-Hooghly , which goes on to become
17711-698: The Ganges". The Ganges is the embodiment of all sacred waters in Hindu mythology . Local rivers are said to be like the Ganges and are sometimes called the local Ganges. The Godavari River of Maharashtra in Western India is called the Ganges of the South or the 'Dakshin Ganga'; the Godavari is the Ganges that was led by the sage Gautama to flow through Central India. The Ganges is invoked whenever water
17910-444: The Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna are given separately, at about 16,650 m /s (588,000 cu ft/s) for the Ganges, about 19,820 m /s (700,000 cu ft/s) for the Brahmaputra, and about 5,100 m /s (180,000 cu ft/s) for the Meghna. The maximum peak discharge of the Ganges, as recorded at Hardinge Bridge in Bangladesh, exceeded 70,000 m /s (2,500,000 cu ft/s). The minimum recorded at
18109-426: The Ganges, and are granted instant salvation. If the death has occurred elsewhere, salvation can be achieved by immersing the ashes in the Ganges. If the ashes have been immersed in another body of water, a relative can still gain salvation for the deceased by journeying to the Ganges, if possible during the lunar "fortnight of the ancestors" in the Hindu calendar month of Ashwin (September or October), and performing
18308-454: The Ganges, and home to King Janaka and his daughter, Sita . Around 600 BC, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the southern regions of Nepal. From one of these, the Shakya polity, arose a prince who later renounced his status to lead an ascetic life, founded Buddhism , and came to be known as Gautama Buddha (traditionally dated 563–483 BC). Nepal came to be established as
18507-705: The Himalaya, the Ganges basin spreads almost 1,200 km from the Yamuna-Satluj divide along the Simla ridge forming the boundary with the Indus basin in the west to the Singalila Ridge along the Nepal-Sikkim border forming the boundary with the Brahmaputra basin in the east. This section of the Himalaya contains 9 of the 14 highest peaks in the world over 8,000m in height, including Mount Everest which
18706-530: The Himalayas is a very important source of sediment, which flows to the Indian Ocean. Saptakoshi, in particular, carries a huge amount of silt out of Nepal but sees extreme drop in Gradient in Bihar , causing severe floods and course changes, and is, therefore, known as the sorrow of Bihar. Severe flooding and landslides cause deaths and disease, destroy farmlands and cripple the transport infrastructure of
18905-502: The Himalayas of Tibet through Nepal joins. The Ghaghara (Karnali), with its average annual flow of about 2,991 m /s (105,600 cu ft/s), is the largest tributary of the Ganges by discharge. After the Ghaghara confluence, the Ganges is joined from the south by the 784 km (487 mi) long Son River , which contributes about 1,008 m /s (35,600 cu ft/s). The 814 km (506 mi) long Gandaki River , then
19104-619: The Himalayas, the arid and semi-arid Mediterranean flora was pushed up and adapted to the more alpine climate over the next 40–50 million years. The Himalayan biodiversity hotspot was the site of mass exchange and intermingling of the Indian and Eurasian species in the neogene . One mammal species ( Himalayan field mouse ), two each of bird and reptile species, nine amphibia, eight fish and 29 butterfly species are endemic to Nepal. Nepal contains 107 IUCN -designated threatened species , 88 of them animal species, 18 plant species and one species of "fungi or protist" group. These include
19303-479: The Hindu tradition, she is also considered the vehicle of ascent , from earth to heaven. As the Triloka-patha-gamini , (Sanskrit: triloka = "three worlds", patha = "road", gamini = "one who travels") of the tradition, she flows in heaven , earth , and the netherworld , and, consequently, is a "tirtha" or crossing point of all beings, the living as well as the dead. It is for this reason that
19502-424: The Indian continental crust eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift the Himalayas . The rising barriers blocked the paths of rivers creating large lakes, which only broke through as late as 100,000 years ago, creating fertile valleys in the middle hills like the Kathmandu Valley. In the western region, rivers which were too strong to be hampered, cut some of the world's deepest gorges. Immediately south of
19701-588: The Indian plate, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana , began a north-eastward drift caused by seafloor spreading to its south-west, and later, south and south-east. Simultaneously, the vast Tethyn oceanic crust , to its northeast, began to subduct under the Eurasian Plate . These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's mantle , both created the Indian Ocean and caused
19900-483: The Lord of Death, to be judged for the afterworld. Having no compensating virtue, Vahika's soul is at once dispatched to hell . While this is happening, his body on earth, however, is being picked at by vultures, one of whom flies away with a foot bone. Another bird comes after the vulture, and in fighting him off, the vulture accidentally drops the bone into the Ganges below. Blessed by this event, Vahika, on his way to hell,
20099-790: The Maoist Party joined mainstream politics, in the aftermath of the peaceful revolution of 2006 , it also adopted multi-party democracy as its official line. The transition period between 2006 and 2015 saw sustained protests from the newly formed ethnocentric nationalist movements, principal among them the Madhes Movement . Nepal is governed according to the Constitution of Nepal . It defines Nepal as having multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural characteristics with common aspirations of people living in diverse geographical regions, and being committed to and united by
20298-458: The Maoist insurgency himself. The Maoist Party joined mainstream politics following the success of the peaceful democratic revolution of 2006 ; Nepal became a secular state , and on 28 May 2008, it was declared a federal republic, ending its time-honoured status as the world's only Hindu kingdom . After a decade of instability and internal strife which saw two constituent assembly elections,
20497-493: The Middle East and East Asia, almost all of them unskilled labourers. Major agricultural products include cereals (barley, maize, millet, paddy and wheat), oilseed, potato, pulses, sugarcane, jute, tobacco, milk and water buffalo meat. Major industries include tourism, carpets, textiles, cigarettes, cement, brick, as well as small rice, jute, sugar and oilseed mills. Nepal's international trade greatly expanded in 1951 with
20696-523: The Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Paris climate accord . Some legal provisions, guided by socio-economic, cultural and religious sensibilities, remain discriminatory. There is gender-based discrimination against foreign nationals married to Nepali citizens. Paternal lineage of a person is valued and required in legal documents. Many laws remain unenforced in practice. Nepal Police
20895-715: The People's Republic of China on 1 August 1955, and signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1960; relations since have been based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence . Nepal maintains neutrality in conflicts between China and India. It remains firmly committed to the One China Policy and is known to curb anti-China activities from the Tibetan refugees in Nepal. Citizens of both countries can cross
21094-479: The Rana autocracy. Following the success of Indian Independence Movement which Nepalese activists had taken part in, with India's support and cooperation of King Tribhuvan, Nepali Congress was successful in toppling the Rana regime, establishing a parliamentary democracy. After a decade of power wrangling between the king and the government, King Mahendra (ruled 1955–1972) scrapped the democratic experiment in 1960, and
21293-528: The Sanskritisation and Hinduisation of the indigenous non-Hindu tribal populations in all principalities throughout Nepal. By the middle of the 15th century, Kathmandu had become a powerful empire which, according to Kirkpatrick , extended from Digarchi or Sigatse in Tibet to Tirhut and Gaya in India. In the late 15th century, Malla princes divided their kingdom in four – Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur in
21492-465: The Thulagi Glacier and have concluded that even assuming the worst case, a disastrous outburst of the lake can be excluded in the near future. The important towns in the Indian part of the Gandak river are Valmikinagar (Bhainsalotan) - location of Gandak Barrage, Bagaha , Bettiah (district headquarters & field directorate of Valmiki Tiger Project), Harinagar (Ramnagar), Hajipur (across
21691-497: The United Arab Emirates (11.2%), China (10.7%), Saudi Arabia (4.9%), and Singapore (4%). Besides having landlocked, rugged geography, few tangible natural resources and poor infrastructure, the ineffective post-1950 government and the long-running civil war are also factors in stunting the country's economic growth and development. Debt bondage even involving debtors' children has been a persistent social problem in
21890-625: The United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship that superseded the Sugauli Treaty of 1816. The Hindu practice of Sati , in which a widow sacrificed herself in the funeral pyre of her husband, was banned in 1919, and slavery was officially abolished in 1924. Rana rule was marked by tyranny, debauchery , economic exploitation and religious persecution. In the late 1940s, newly emerging pro-democracy movements and political parties in Nepal were critical of
22089-626: The United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan and Norway, among others. The President is the supreme commander of the Nepali Army ; its routine management is handled by the Ministry of Defence . The military expenditure for 2018 was $ 398.5 million, around 1.4% of GDP. An almost exclusively ground infantry force, Nepal Army numbers at less than one hundred thousand; recruitment is voluntary. It has few aircraft, mainly helicopters, primarily used for transport, patrol, and search and rescue. Directorate of Military Intelligence under Nepal Army serves as
22288-480: The Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) of Nepal reported that five lakes were potentially dangerous, namely, Dig Tsho, Imja , Lower Barun, Tsho Rolpa , and Thulagi, all lying above 4,100 metres (13,500 ft). A recent study done by ICIMOD and UNEP (UNEP, 2001) reported 27 potentially dangerous lakes in Nepal. In ten of them GLOF events have occurred in the past few years and some have been regenerating after
22487-472: The adverse situation which could arise due to increased irrigation use in dry seasons which could restrict the river level for maintaining possible navigation. The Gandaki river is mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata . Its evolution is described in Shiva Purana, Kumarakhand, in the chapter of the killing of Shankhachuda. A part of episode 1 of the documentary series " The Living Planet "
22686-503: The anvil for implementation in the near future. With Government of Nepal now according priority to private-sector participation in a multi-pronged approach, the pace of hydropower development will get accelerated. A major Indian firm has entered into a share purchase and joint venture agreement with a Nepalese firm to acquire 80 per cent stake of Nepalese Company for development of the Upper Marsyangdi HEP (250MW). Achieving
22885-455: The army, but it is dominated by men from elite Pahari warrior castes. Nepal is one of the least developed countries , which ranks 165th in the world in nominal GDP per capita and 162nd in GDP per capita at PPP . Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2019 was $ 34.186 billion. Nepal has consistently been ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world. Nepal has been
23084-589: The border and travel as far as 30 km without a visa. China is viewed favourably in Nepal owing to the absence of any border disputes or serious interference in internal politics, coupled with its assistance in infrastructure development and aid during emergencies; favourability has increased since China helped Nepal during the 2015 economic blockade imposed by India. Subsequently, China granted Nepal access to its ports for third-country trade, and Nepal joined China's Belt and Road Initiative . Nepal emphasises greater cooperation in South Asia and actively pushed for
23283-572: The border with China. Seven other of the world's " eight-thousanders " are in Nepal or on its border with Tibet: Lhotse , Makalu , Cho Oyu , Kangchenjunga , Dhaulagiri , Annapurna and Manaslu . Pahad is the mountain region that does not generally contain snow. The mountains vary from 800 to 4,000 metres (2,600 to 13,100 ft) in altitude, with progression from subtropical climates below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) to alpine climates above 3,600 metres (11,800 ft). The Lower Himalayan Range , reaching 1,500 to 3,000 metres (4,900 to 9,800 ft),
23482-488: The brief periods of democratic exercise in the 1950s and the 1990s, Nepali Congress held majority of seats in parliament; CPN (UML) was its competitor in the 1990s. After the Maoists entered the political process in 2006, they emerged as the third largest party. In the aftermath of the 2017 elections , the first one according to the new constitution, NCP, formed by the merger of CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) had become
23681-655: The bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly River . The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma . It is then joined by the Jamuna , the lower stream of the Brahmaputra , and eventually the Meghna , forming the major estuary of the Ganges Delta , and emptying into
23880-607: The bull is now in the National Museum at New Delhi and the other, the lion, is at Calcutta Museum. At Nandan Garh there are also Baudh ( Buddha ) stupas made out of bricks and about 80 feet (24 m) high which according to the authoritative source are Ashoka Stupas, in which ashes of Lord Buddha's funeral pyre are enshrined. Someshwar Fort is situated in Narkatiaganj sub-division, near Nepal border, on top of Someshwar Hill at 2,884 ft (879 m) elevation. It
24079-516: The cherished of Ne , the valley would be called Nepāl . According to Gopalarājvamshāvali , the genealogy of ancient Gopala dynasty compiled c. 1380s , Nepal is named after Nepa the cowherd, the founder of the Nepali scion of the Abhiras . In this account, the cow that issued milk to the spot, at which Nepa discovered the Jyotirlinga of Pashupatināth upon investigation,
24278-402: The country, during the monsoon season each year. Nepal has five climatic zones, broadly corresponding to the altitudes. The tropical and subtropical zones lie below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), the temperate zone 1,200 to 2,400 metres (3,900 to 7,900 ft), the cold zone 2,400 to 3,600 metres (7,900 to 11,800 ft), the subarctic zone 3,600 to 4,400 metres (11,800 to 14,400 ft), and
24477-446: The discovery of valuable religious paintings, sculptures, manuscripts and numerous artifacts belonging to the 12th to 14th century. In Nepal, Sapta Gandaki alone has a huge hydropower potential of 20,650 MW (economic exploitable potential is 5,270 MW) out of a total estimated potential of 83,290 MW (economically exploitable potential is 42,140 MW). The country has so far been able to generate only around 600 MW of hydropower out of which
24676-464: The earliest rulers of the central Himalayan kingdom known by the name 'Nepal'. The Gopalas were followed by Kiratas who ruled for over 16 centuries by some accounts. According to the Mahabharata , the then Kirata king went to take part in the Battle of Kurukshetra . In the south-eastern region, Janakpurdham was the capital of the prosperous kingdom of Videha or Mithila, that extended down to
24875-519: The earthly continents. There, the divine waters break up, with one stream, the Bhagirathi, flowing down one petal into Bharatavarsha (India) as the Ganges. It is Shiva , however, among the major deities of the Hindu pantheon, who appears in the most widely known version of the avatarana story. Told and retold in the Ramayana , the Mahabharata and several Puranas , the story begins with
25074-755: The east came under Nepalese control. A dispute with Tibet over the control of mountain passes and inner Tingri valleys of Tibet prompted the Qing Emperor of China to start the Sino-Nepali War compelling the Nepali to retreat to their own borders in the north. The rivalry between the Kingdom of Nepal and the East India Company over the control of states bordering Nepal eventually led to the Anglo-Nepali War (1815–16). At first,
25273-602: The eastern end of the Valmiki Sanctuary and meets Masan . The Gandak enters India at first in Maharajganj District of Uttar Pradesh for around 25 km (16 mi); it also passes through Kushinagar District before entering Bihar . The Gandak flows southeast 300 km (190 mi) across the Gangetic plain of Bihar state through West Champaran , Gopalganj , East Champaran , Saran , Muzaffarpur and Vaishali districts. It joins
25472-491: The economically exploitable potential need would no more be a mirage. Reportedly there are several other major projects being pursued by the Government of Nepal for private sector participation on IPP basis. The Gandak Project at Valmikinagar (Bhainsaloton) intercepts water of a catchment area of 37,410 km (23,250 mi), which is mostly in Nepal and partly in India. An agreement was signed on 4 December 1959 between
25671-532: The effects of all magnitudes of floods, which is neither practicable from economic considerations nor even necessary, keeping in view other realities that are faced in the Indian context. Thus, a multi-pronged strategy ranging from modifying the floods by means of structural measures to learning to live with the floods by means of other non-structural measures is the goal of flood management. Measures for protection against extreme floods of low frequency are seldom economically feasible. The term "flood management" refers to
25870-506: The emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment and now constitutes the Indo-Gangetic Plain . Nepal lies almost completely within this collision zone, occupying the central sector of the Himalayan arc, nearly one-third of the 2,400 km (1,500 mi)-long Himalayas, with a small strip of southernmost Nepal stretching into the Indo-Gangetic plain and two districts in
26069-492: The empire had splintered into loosely associated Baise rajyas , literally 22 states as they were counted. The rich culture and language of the Khas people spread throughout Nepal and as far as Indo-China in the intervening centuries; their language , later renamed the Nepali language, became the lingua franca of Nepal as well as much of North-east India. In south-eastern Nepal, Simraungarh annexed Mithila around 1100 AD, and
26268-628: The end of the 18th century, the course of the lower Brahmaputra changed dramatically, significantly altering its relationship with the Ganges. In 1787 there was a great flood on the Teesta River , which at the time was a tributary of the Ganges-Padma River. The flood of 1787 caused the Teesta to undergo a sudden change course, an avulsion , shifting east to join the Brahmaputra and causing the Brahmaputra to shift its course south, cutting
26467-573: The establishment of SAARC , the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the permanent secretariat of which, is hosted in Kathmandu. Nepal was one of the first countries to recognise an independent Bangladesh, and the two countries seek to enhance greater cooperation, on trade and water management; seaports in Bangladesh, being closer, are seen as viable alternatives to India's monopoly on Nepal's third-country trade. Nepal
26666-472: The establishment of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy. The Constitution of Nepal , adopted in 2015, affirms the country as a secular federal parliamentary republic divided into seven provinces . Nepal was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and friendship treaties were signed with India in 1950 and China in 1960. Nepal hosts the permanent secretariat of
26865-428: The establishment of democracy; liberalisation began in 1985 and picked up pace after 1990. By the fiscal year 2016/17, Nepal's foreign trade amounted Rs 1.06 trillion, a twenty-three folds increase from Rs 45.6 billion in 1990/91. More than 60% of Nepal's trade is with India. Major exports include readymade garment, carpet, pulses, handicrafts, leather, medicinal herbs, and paper products, which account for 90% of
27064-405: The event. The Thulagi glacier , which is located in the Upper Marsyangdi River basin, is one out of the two moraine-dammed lakes (supra-glacial lakes), identified as a potentially dangerous lake. The KfW , Frankfurt , the BGR (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Germany), in cooperation with the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology in Kathmandu, have carried out studies on
27263-419: The federal parliament: Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) , Nepali Congress , Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) , Rastriya Swatantra Party , Rastriya Prajatantra Party , People's Socialist Party and Janamat Party . Of the two major parties which both officially espouse democratic socialism, CPN(UML) is considered leftist while Nepali Congress is considered centrist. During most of
27462-457: The foot of Gangotri Glacier at Gomukh , at an elevation of 4,356 m (14,291 ft) and was mythologically referred to as residing in the matted locks of Shiva ; symbolically Tapovan, which is a meadow of ethereal beauty at the feet of Mount Shivling, just 5 km (3.1 mi) away. Although many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest and their five confluences are considered sacred. The six headstreams are
27661-407: The global burial of organic carbon . The Ganges Delta , formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is the world's largest delta, at about 64,000 km (25,000 sq mi). It stretches 400 km (250 mi) along the Bay of Bengal . Only the Amazon and Congo rivers have a greater average discharge than the combined flow of the Ganges,
27860-418: The governments of Nepal and of India on the Gandak Irrigation and Power Project. It encompassed the construction of a barrage, canal head regulators and other appurtenant works about 33 m (108 ft) below the existing Triveni Canal Head Regulator. The agreement was modified in 1964 for the protection of Nepal's riparian rights. Basically there is an agreed share of water for ‘western canal system including
28059-400: The largest of which merge with other large rivers before themselves joining the Bay of Bengal. But this current channel pattern was not always the case. Over time the rivers in Ganges Delta have often changed course , sometimes altering the network of channels in significant ways. Before the late 12th century the Bhagirathi-Hooghly distributary was the main channel of the Ganges and the Padma
28258-453: The lean season flows of the river. Glacier lakes, among the most hazardous features of high mountains, are usually formed behind dams of moraine debris left behind by retreating glaciers, a trend that is observed all over the world. Even though glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) events have been occurring in Nepal for many decades, the Dig Tsho glacier outburst, which took place in 1985, has triggered detailed study of this phenomenon. In 1996,
28457-423: The limits of the Gangetic Plain. Broad, low valleys called Inner Terai Valleys ( Bhitri Tarai Upatyaka ) lie north of these foothills in several places. The Indian plate continues to move north relative to Asia at about 50 mm (2.0 in) per year. This makes Nepal an earthquake-prone zone, and periodic earthquakes that have devastating consequences present a significant hurdle to development. Erosion of
28656-423: The locality of Langalbandh , is still considered sacred by Hindus. Near the confluence is a major early historic site called Wari-Bateshwar . In the rainy season of 1809, the lower channel of the Bhagirathi, leading to Kolkata, had been entirely shut; but in the following year it opened again and was nearly of the same size as the upper channel but both however suffered a considerable diminution, owing probably to
28855-412: The main Ganges - Brahmaputra divide. These are the Kali Gandaki, the Trishuli River, and the five main tributaries of the Trishuli known as the Daraudi, Seti , Madi, Marsyandi and Budhi Gandaki . The entry point of the river at the Indo – Nepal border is also the confluence called Triveni with rivers Pachnad and Sonha descending from Nepal . Pandai river flows into Bihar from Nepal in
29054-416: The main flow of the Ganges to shift to the southeast and the Padma River. By the end of the 18th century, the Padma had become the main distributary of the Ganges. One result of this shift to the Padma was that the Ganges now joined the Meghna and Brahmaputra rivers before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The present confluence of the Ganges and Meghna was formed very recently, about 150 years ago. Also near
29253-414: The major contributors to the UN peacekeeping missions, having contributed more than 119,000 personnel to 42 missions since 1958. Nepali people have a reputation for honesty, loyalty and bravery, which has led to them serving as legendary Gurkha warriors in the Indian and British armies for the last 200 years, with service in both world wars, India-Pakistan wars as well as Afghanistan and Iraq, though Nepal
29452-437: The mid 14th century, Nepal remains largely untouched by the Muslim invasion of India that began in the 11th century. The Mughal period saw an influx of high-caste Hindus from India into Nepal. They soon intermingled with the Khas people and by the 16th century, there were about 50 Rajput-ruled principalities in Nepal, including the 22 (Baisi) states and, to their east in west-central Nepal, 24 Chaubisi states . There emerged
29651-470: The middle of the 14th century. The Mallas ruled the valley first under the suzerainty of Tirhut but established independent reign by late 14th century as Tirhut went into decline. In the late 14th century, Jayasthiti Malla introduced widespread socio-economic reforms, principal of which was the caste system. By dividing the indigenous non-Aryan Buddhist population into castes modelled after the four Varna system of Hinduism, he provided an influential model for
29850-437: The military intelligence agency; National Investigation Department tasked with national and international intelligence gathering, is independent. Nepal Army is primarily used for routine security of critical assets, an anti-poaching patrol of national parks, counterinsurgency, and search and rescue during natural disasters; it also undertakes major construction projects. There are no discriminatory policies on recruitment into
30049-443: The mountains Dhaulagiri , elevation 8,167 metres (26,795 ft) to the west and Annapurna I , elevation 8,091 metres (26,545 ft) to the east. If one measures the depth of a canyon by the difference between the river height and the heights of the highest peaks on either side, this gorge is the world's deepest. The portion of the river directly between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna I, 7 kilometres (4 mi) downstream from Tukuche ),
30248-456: The mountains which stretch along the northern frontier, traverse the level country, and not a few of these, after uniting with each other, fall into the river called the Ganges. Now this river, which at its source is 30 stadia broad, flows from north to south, and empties its waters into the ocean forming the eastern boundary of the Gangaridai , a nation which possesses a vast force of the largest-sized elephants." (Diodorus II.37). In 1951
30447-402: The nectar of the gods which then plunges to the earth and waters it with sustenance. In the Vaishnava version of the myth, the heavenly waters were then a river called Vishnupadi ( Sanskrit : "from the foot of Vishnu"). As Vishnu as the avatar Vamana completes his celebrated three strides —of earth, sky, and heaven— he stubs his toe on the vault of heaven, punches open a hole and releases
30646-410: The new communication opened below the Jalanggi on the upper channel. Discharge of the Ganges River at Farakka Barrage (period from 1998/01/01 to 2023/12/31): The first European traveller to mention the Ganges was the Greek envoy Megasthenes (ca. 350–290 BCE). He did so several times in his work Indica : "India, again, possesses many rivers both large and navigable, which, having their sources in
30845-457: The next general elections in 2027. In the 1930s, a vibrant underground political movement arose in the capital, birthing Nepal Praja Parishad in 1936, which was dissolved seven years later, following the execution of the four great martyrs . Around the same time, Nepalis involved in the Indian independence movement started organizing into political parties, leading to the birth of Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal . As communism
31044-449: The northern edge of the Mahabharat Range . One of the largest hydroelectricity project in Nepal is located along this stretch of the river. Turning south again and breaking through the Mahabharats, Kali Gandaki is then joined by a major tributary, the Trishuli , at Devghat , which is larger than the Kali Gandaki. Gandaki is then joined by the East Rapti River draining the Inner Terai valley known as Chitwan . The Gandaki then crosses
31243-423: The northwest stretching up to the Tibetan plateau. Nepal is divided into three principal physiographic belts known as Himal – Pahad – Terai . Himal is the mountain region containing snow and situated in the Great Himalayan Range; it makes up the northern part of Nepal. It contains the highest elevations in the world including 8,848.86 metres (29,032 ft) height Mount Everest ( Sagarmāthā in Nepali) on
31442-457: The official language. The name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent , the era in ancient Nepal when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BC, Gautama Buddha , the founder of Buddhism , was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet . The centrally located Kathmandu Valley
31641-484: The oldest texts may contain anonymous contributions dating as late as the early modern period . Academic attempts to provide a plausible theory are hindered by the lack of a complete picture of history and insufficient understanding of linguistics or relevant Indo-European and Tibeto-Burman languages. According to Hindu mythology , Nepal derives its name from an ancient Hindu sage called Ne , referred to variously as Ne Muni or Nemi . According to Pashupati Purāna , as
31840-408: The outermost foothills of the Himalayas— Sivalik Hills —into the Terai plains of Nepal. From Devghat, the river flows southwest of Gaindakot town. The river later curves back towards the southeast as it enters India where it is called the Gandak. Below Gaindakot the river is known as the Narayani or Sapt Gandaki (Seven Gandakis), for seven tributaries rising in the Himalaya or further north along
32039-434: The park there is canoeing, elephant rides, and guided jungle walks. Valmiki Sanctuary covers about 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi) of forest and was the 18th tiger reserve established in India. It is ranked fourth in terms density of tiger population. Valmikinagar is located nearly 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Bettiah in the northernmost part of the West Champaran district , Bihar, bordering Nepal. Valmikinagar
32238-426: The plains first to the confluence with the Yamuna at Prayag and then to Varanasi, and eventually to Ganges Sagar (Ganges delta), where she meets the ocean, sinks to the netherworld, and saves the sons of Sagara. In honour of Bhagirath's pivotal role in the avatarana , the source stream of the Ganges in the Himalayas is named Bhagirathi, (Sanskrit, "of Bhagiratha"). As the Ganges had descended from heaven to earth in
32437-404: The population below the international poverty line (US$ 1.90 per person per day) from 15% in 2010 to just 9.3% in 2018, although vulnerability remains extremely high, with almost 32% of the population living on between US$ 1.90 and US$ 3.20 per person per day. Nepal has made improvement in sectors like nutrition, child mortality, electricity, improved flooring and assets. Under the current trend, Nepal
32636-517: The provision of a reasonable degree of protection against floods by measures to mitigate the recurring havoc caused by floods. This is what is being done in flood plains of Gandak River in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh which are affected by floods. Nepal has carried out studies on the feasibility of having navigational use of the Gandaki river. Studies indicate that (a) it is feasible only in the lower reaches, (b) link it with India's number 1 highway from Allahabad to Haldia, and (c) cognizance has to be taken of
32835-401: The region, and has a policy of non-alignment at the global stage. Nepal is a member of SAARC , UN , WTO , BIMSTEC and ACD , among others. It has bilateral diplomatic relations with 167 countries and the EU, has embassies in 30 countries and six consulates, while 25 countries maintain embassies in Nepal, and more than 80 others maintain non-residential diplomatic missions. Nepal is one of
33034-444: The region. The seasonality of flow is so acute it can cause both drought and floods . Bangladesh, in particular, frequently experiences drought during the dry season and regularly suffers extreme floods during the monsoon. In the Ganges Delta, many large rivers come together, both merging and bifurcating in a complicated network of channels . The two largest rivers, the Ganges and Brahmaputra, both split into distributary channels,
33233-416: The reigning queen had planned to overthrow Jung Bahadur Kunwar, a fast-rising military leader. This led to the Kot massacre ; armed clashes between military personnel and administrators loyal to the queen led to the execution of several hundred princes and chieftains around the country. Bir Narsingh Kunwar emerged victoriously and founded the Rana dynasty , and came to be known as Jung Bahadur Rana . The king
33432-417: The replica of lord Narayana. Srivaisnavas, and Madhvacharya sects who consider the place where one can find saligrama silas in the river bed of the Gandaki River, and the Mukthinath temple as one of the 108 Divyakshetrams. Archaeologically important places around Valmikinagar are Lauriya-Nandangarh and Someshwar Fort. In Lauria block, about 1 km east of Nandan Garh, a lion pillar of Ashoka, made out of
33631-469: The river Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers in the town of Devprayag in the Garhwal division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer, and therefore, hydrologically the source stream. The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snow melt from peaks such as Nanda Devi , Trisul , and Kamet . The Bhagirathi rises at
33830-452: The river is known as the Gandak River. The Kali Gandaki river source is at the border with Tibet at an elevation of 6,268 metres (20,564 ft) at the Nhubine Himal Glacier in the Mustang region of Nepal. The headwaters stream on some maps is named the Chhuama Khola and then, nearing Lo Manthang , the Nhichung Khola or Choro Khola. The Kali Gandaki then flows southwest (with the name of Mustang Khola on old, outdated maps) through
34029-409: The river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian government's official limit. The Ganga Action Plan , an environmental initiative to clean up the river, has been considered a failure which is variously attributed to corruption , a lack of will in the government, poor technical expertise, poor environmental planning , and a lack of support from religious authorities. The upper phase of
34228-414: The river's source is usually assumed to be the source of the Bhagirathi River, Gangotri Glacier at Gomukh and its mouth being the mouth of the Meghna River on the Bay of Bengal. Sometimes the source of the Ganges is considered to be at Haridwar, where its Himalayan headwater streams debouch onto the Gangetic Plain. In some cases, the length of the Ganges is given by its Hooghly River distributary, which
34427-409: The river, however, can achieve the same results by bathing in any nearby body of water, which, for the true believer, takes on all the attributes of the Ganges. The karunasiri is an old theme in Hinduism with a number of different versions of the story. In the Vedic version, Indra , the Lord of Svarga ( Heaven ) slays the celestial serpent, Vritra , releasing the celestial liquid, soma , or
34626-422: The river, whose course has been roughly southwest until this point, now begins to flow southeast through the plains of northern India. The Ganges river follows a 900 km (560 mi) arching course passing through the cities of Bijnor , Kannauj, Farukhabad , and Kanpur . Along the way it is joined by the Ramganga , which contributes an average annual flow of about 495 m /s (17,500 cu ft/s) to
34825-490: The river. The Ganges joins the 1,444 km (897 mi) long River Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj (previously Allahabad), a confluence considered holy in Hinduism. At their confluence the Yamuna is larger than the Ganges contributing about 58.5% of the combined flow, with an average flow of 2,948 m /s (104,100 cu ft/s). Now flowing east, the river meets the 400 km (250 mi) long Tamsa River (also called Tons ), which flows north from
35024-545: The ruling party at the federal level and in six out of seven provinces. After the 2022 general election , the House of Representatives of 2nd Federal parliament was formed as hung parliament and a coalition government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal was formed in December 2022. On 15 July 2024, K. P. Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepali Prime minister for fourth time. New coalition was formed between Nepali Congress, led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, and UML, led by Oli. The party leaders will take turns as prime ministers for 18 months each until
35223-500: The same Ganga." In late May or early June every year, Hindus celebrate the karunasiri and the rise of the Ganges from earth to heaven. The day of the celebration, Ganga Dashahara , the Dashami (tenth day) of the waxing moon of the Hindu calendar month Jyeshtha , brings throngs of bathers to the banks of the river. A dip in the Ganges on this day is said to rid the bather of ten sins (dasha = Sanskrit "ten"; hara = to destroy) or ten lifetimes of sins. Those who cannot journey to
35422-492: The same place was about 180 m /s (6,400 cu ft/s), in 1997. The hydrologic cycle in the Ganges basin is governed by the Southwest Monsoon . About 84% of the total rainfall occurs in the monsoon from June to September. Consequently, streamflow in the Ganges is highly seasonal. The average dry season to monsoon discharge ratio is about 1:6, as measured at Hardinge Bridge . This strong seasonal variation underlies many problems of land and water resource development in
35621-406: The size of the river's drainage basin. The basin covers parts of four countries, India, Nepal , China , and Bangladesh; eleven Indian states, Himachal Pradesh , Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh , Bihar, Jharkhand , Punjab , Haryana, Rajasthan , West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Delhi . The Ganges basin, including the delta but not the Brahmaputra or Meghna basins,
35820-429: The starting point for properly recorded history of Nepal. Ashoka also visited the Kathmandu valley and built monuments commemorating Gautama Buddha's visit there. By the 4th century AD, much of Nepal was under the influence of the Gupta Empire . In the Kathmandu valley, the Kiratas were pushed eastward by the Licchavis , and the Licchavi dynasty came into power c. 400 AD. The Lichchhavis built monuments and left
36019-416: The state of West Bengal. The discharge of the Ganges also differs by source. Frequently, discharge is described for the mouth of the Meghna River, thus combining the Ganges with the Brahmaputra and Meghna. This results in a total average annual discharge of about 38,000 m /s (1,300,000 cu ft/s), or 42,470 m /s (1,500,000 cu ft/s). In other cases the average annual discharges of
36218-404: The story of the avatarana is told at Shraddha ceremonies for the deceased in Hinduism, and Ganges water is used in Vedic rituals after death . Among all hymns devoted to the Ganges, there are none more popular than the ones expressing the worshipper's wish to breathe his last surrounded by her waters. The Gangashtakam expresses this longing fervently: O Mother! ... Necklace adorning
36417-434: The system of national parks and protected areas , first established in 1973 with the enactment of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973 , was substantially expanded. Vulture restaurants coupled with a ban on veterinary usage of diclofenac has seen a rise in the number of white-rumped vultures. The community forestry programme which has seen a third of the country's population directly participate in managing
36616-436: The then unformed Indian Ocean. The subcontinent's subsequent collision with the Eurasian Plate and subduction under it, gave rise to the Himalayas, the planet's highest mountain ranges. In the former seabed immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough , which, having gradually been filled with sediment borne by the Indus and its tributaries and the Ganges and its tributaries, now forms
36815-428: The total. Major imports include various finished and semi-finished goods, raw materials, machinery and equipment, chemical fertilisers, electrical and electronic devices, petroleum products, gold, and readymade garments. Inflation was at 4.5% in 2019. Foreign exchange reserves were at US$ 9.5 billion in July 2019, equivalent to 7.8 months of imports. Nepal has made significant progress in poverty reduction bringing
37014-483: The unified Tirhut stood as a powerful kingdom for more than 200 years, even ruling over Kathmandu for a time. After another 300 years of Muslim rule, Tirhut came under the control of the Sens of Makawanpur . In the eastern hills, a confederation of Kirat principalities ruled the area between Kathmandu and Bengal. In the Kathmandu valley, the Mallas , who make several appearances in Nepalese history since ancient times, had established themselves in Kathmandu and Patan by
37213-432: The valley and Banepa to the east. The competition for prestige among these brotherly kingdoms saw the flourishing of art and architecture in central Nepal, and the building of famous Kathmandu , Patan and Bhaktapur Durbar Squares ; their division and mistrust led to their fall in the late 18th century, and ultimately, the unification of Nepal into a modern state. Apart from one destructive sacking of Kathmandu valley in
37412-507: The world's tallest grasses as well as Sal forests, tropical evergreen forests and tropical riverine deciduous forests. In the lower hills (700 m – 2,000 m), subtropical and temperate deciduous mixed forests containing mostly S al (in the lower altitudes), Chilaune and Katus , as well as subtropical pine forest dominated by chir pine are common. The middle hills (2,000 m – 3,000 m) are dominated by oak and rhododendron . Subalpine coniferous forests cover
37611-410: The worlds! Banner rising to heaven! I ask that I may leave of this body on your banks, Drinking your water, rolling in your waves, Remembering your name, bestowing my gaze upon you. No place along her banks is more longed for at the moment of death by Hindus than Varanasi, the Great Cremation Ground, or Mahashmshana . Those who are lucky enough to die in Varanasi, are cremated on the banks of
37810-402: The worst dry season the Ganges flow would be around 1,400 to 1,600 m /s (49,000 to 57,000 cu ft/s), thus leaving 280 to 420 m /s (9,900 to 14,800 cu ft/s) for the then East Pakistan. East Pakistan objected and a protracted dispute ensued. In 1996 a 30-year treaty was signed with Bangladesh. The terms of the agreement are complicated, but in essence, they state that if
38009-453: Was also named Ne . The Ne Muni etymology was rightly dismissed by the early European visitors. Norwegian indologist Christian Lassen proposed that Nepāla was a compound of Nipa (foot of a mountain) and -ala (short suffix for alaya meaning abode), and so Nepāla meant "abode at the foot of the mountain". Indologist Sylvain Levi found Lassen's theory untenable but had no theories of his own, only suggesting that either Newara
38208-1058: Was filmed in the Kali Gandaki Gorge . Ganges Uttar Pradesh : Bijnor , Fatehgarh , Kannauj , Hardoi , Bithoor , Kanpur , Lucknow ( Gomti tributary), Prayagraj , Mirzapur , Varanasi , Ghazipur , Ballia , Kasganj , Farrukhabad , Narora Bihar : Begusarai , Bhagalpur , Patna , Vaishali , Munger , Khagaria , Katihar Jharkhand : Sahibganj West Bengal : Murshidabad , Palashi , Nabadwip , Shantipur , Kolkata , Serampore , Chinsurah , Baranagar , Diamond Harbour , Haldia , Budge Budge , Howrah , Uluberia , Barrackpore Delhi : ( Yamuna ) tributary Rajshahi Division : Rajshahi , Pabna , Ishwardi Dhaka Division : Dhaka , Narayanganj , Gazipur , Munshiganj , Faridpur Chittagong Division : Chandpur , Noakhali 43,900 m /s (1,550,000 cu ft/s) The Ganges ( / ˈ ɡ æ n dʒ iː z / GAN -jeez ; in India: Ganga , / ˈ ɡ ʌ ŋ ɡ ɑː / GUNG -ah ; in Bangladesh: Padma , / ˈ p ʌ d m ə / PUD -mə )
38407-413: Was granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It is located in Chitwan, one of the Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal . The park is rich in flora and fauna, including Bengal Tigers and one of the last populations of single-horned Indian rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis ). The area used to be known as the Chitwan Valley. It was a place for big game hunting and until 1951 it was a hunting reserve. At
38606-456: Was made a titular figure, and the post of Prime Minister was made powerful and hereditary. The Ranas were staunchly pro-British and assisted them during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (and later in both World Wars). In 1860 some parts of the western Terai region were gifted to Nepal by the British as a friendly gesture because of her military help to sustain British control in India during the rebellion (known as Naya Muluk , new country). In 1923,
38805-468: Was not directly involved in any of those conflicts, and winning the highest military awards, including the Victoria Cross and the Param Vir Chakra . Nepal pursues a policy of "balanced relations" with the two giant immediate neighbours, India and China; the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with India provides for a much closer relationship. Nepal and India share an open border with free movement of people, religious, cultural and marital ties. India
39004-426: Was only a minor spill-channel. The main flow of the river reached the sea not via the modern Hooghly River but rather by the Adi Ganga . Between the 12th and 16th centuries, the Bhagirathi-Hooghly and Padma channels were more or less equally significant. After the 16th century, the Padma grew to become the main channel of the Ganges. It is thought that the Bhagirathi-Hooghly became increasingly choked with silt, causing
39203-424: Was taken up in 1960 and Main Canal system was completed in 1975 for flow irrigation in Nepal for the gross commanded area estimated to be 103,500 acres (419 km). A Gandak Hydropower Station with an installed capacity of 15 MW has also been constructed and commissioned on the bypass to Eastern Gandak Canal. Flood management does not aim at total elimination or control of floods or providing total immunity from
39402-424: Was the first South Asian country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, and the countries enjoy a strong relationship; it recognises the rights of the Palestinians, having voted in favour of its recognition at the UN and against the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Countries that Nepal maintains a close relationship with, include the most generous donors and development partners—the United States,
39601-403: Was trying to find its footing, Nepali Congress was successful in overthrowing the Rana regime in 1951 and enjoyed the overwhelming support of the electorate. In the partyless Panchayat system initiated in 1962 by King Mahendra , monarchy loyalists took turns leading the government; political leaders remained underground, exiled or in prison. A communist insurgency was crushed in its cradle in
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