| Type: | District |
| Khotang District | |
| Native Name: | खोटाङ जिल्ला |
| Image Map1: | Khotang District division map.jpg |
| Mapsize1: | 300 |
| Map Caption1: | Khotang District with local level body |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Koshi Province |
| Parts Type: | Municipality |
| Parts Style: | coll |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1962 |
| Seat Type: | Admin HQ. |
| Leader Title: | Head Mr. Iraj Khadka |
| Leader Title1: | Deputy-Head |
| Leader Name1: | Mr. Iraj Khadka and Mrs. Pooja Khadka |
| Leader Title2: | Parliamentary constituencies |
| Leader Name2: | 1 Ms Iruja Khadka |
| Leader Title3: | Provincial constituencies |
| Leader Name3: | 2 |
| Government Type: | Coordination committee |
| Governing Body: | DCC, Khotang |
| Area Total Km2: | 1591 |
| Population Total: | 175298 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Households |
| Population Blank1: | 42,647 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Main Language(s) |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Nepali, Chamling, Magar, Tamang Language |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Major highways |
| Blank Info Sec2: | Pushpalal Highway, Sagarmatha Highway |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Footnotes: | [1] |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Ethnic groups |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Hindus, Kirat, Christians |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Ethnic castes |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Female ♀ |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 53 % |
| Demographics1 Title4: | Male ♂/100 female |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 88.90 |
| Demographics Type2: | Human Development Index |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [2] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Income per capicta |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 1,132 US$ |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Poverty rate |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 29.47 |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Literacy |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 69% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | Life Expectancy |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 70.24% |
| Timezone1: | NPT |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:45 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal Codes |
| Postal Code: | 036 |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone Code |
| Area Code: | 56200 (List) |
Khotang District (Nepali: [[:ne:खोटाङ जिल्ला|खोटाङ जिल्ला]]) is one of 14 districts of Koshi Province of eastern Nepal. The district, with Diktel as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (2021) of 206,312.[3] The district is bordered by Bhojpur District in the east, Udayapur District in the south, Okhaldhunga District in the west and Solukhumbu District in the North.[4] In this district there are two municipalities and eight rural/urban municipalities.
Before the unification of Nepal, Khotang District was a part of Majha Kirat or Khambuwan. The land area between two rivers from Dudh Koshi to Arun River was Majha Kirat and it was under suzerainty of Sen King of Chaudandigadhi.[5]
During Rana rule, Nepal had 32 districts and the current Khotang District was divided between two other districts. Half of the north part of the current Khotang District was part of East No. 3 (Okhaldhunga) and half of southern part of current Khotang was part of East No. 4 (Bhojpur).[6] In 1962 the traditional 32 districts were divided into 75 districts[7] thus Khotang county of East No. 4 and some counties from East No. 3 were merged to become the current Khotang District.
Geographically, Khotang is a hilly district of Eastern Nepal. It lies on the coordinates of 260° 50" N to 270° 28" N latitude and 860° 26" E to 860° 58" E longitude. Coordinates of the center is 27° 11' 60.00" N and 86° 46' 59.99" E. Total area of the district is .[8] The elevations of the district is 152 m to 3620 m from the sea level.[9] Sunkoshi River and Dudh Koshi river makes natural borders in the North, West and South and a series of hills and small river makes border separating it from Bhojpur District in East. Approximately 56% of the district area is covered with forest, and about 42% is under cultivation.[4]
| Climate Zone | Elevation Range | % of Area | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Tropical | below 300 meters (1,000 ft) | 0.7% | |
| Upper Tropical | 300 to 1,000 meters 1,000 to 3,300 ft. | 31.5% | |
| Subtropical | 1,000 to 2,000 meters 3,300 to 6,600 ft. | 49.1% | |
| Temperate | 2,000 to 3,000 meters 6,400 to 9,800 ft. | 16.3% | |
| Subalpine | 3,000 to 4,000 meters 9,800 to 13,100 ft. | 1.6% |
At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Khotang District had a population of 175,298. Khotang had a literacy rate of 76.0% and a sex ratio of 1023 females per 1000 males. 70,086 (39.98%) lived in urban municipalities.[10]
Ethnicity/caste: 40.98% of the population were Rai, 19.13% Chhetri, 5.62% Bahun, 5.22% Newar, 5.19% Magar, 4.96% Kami, 4.90% Tamang, 3.23% Sarki, 3.01% Damai, 1.82% Bhujel, 1.38% Sanyasi and 1.08% Gurung.[11]
As their first language, 47.63% of the population spoke Nepali, 17.52% Chamling, 4.52% Magar Dhut, 3.85% Tamang, 3.82% Bantawa, 3.62% Sampang, 2.71% Dumi, 2.27% Newari, 2.13% Puma, 2.09% Thulung, 1.94% Wambule, 1.35% Nachhiring and 1.27% Koyee.[12] In 2011, Nepali was spoken by 50.12% of the population as their first language.[13]
Religion: 52.20% were Hindu, 36.20% Kirati, 8.34% Buddhist, 3.07% Christian, 0.1% Prakriti and 0.3% others.[14]
Khotang District is administered by Khotang District Coordination Committee (Khotang DCC). The Khotang DCC is elected by Khotang District Assembly. The head of Khotang DCC is Mr. Kamal Bhimraj Khadka and Mrs. Indrakala Khadka is deputy head of Khotang DCC.
Khotang District Administration Office under Ministry of Home Affairs co-operate with Khotang DCC to maintain peace, order and security in the district. The officer of District Administration office called CDO and current CDO of Khotang DAO is Shaligram Sharma Paudel
Khotang District Court is a Judicial court to see the cases of people on district level.
| Administration | Name | Head | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative | District Coordination Committee | Mr. Bobby Chamling | ||
| Executive | District Administration Office | Mr. Shaligram Sharma Paudel | ||
| Judicial | District Court | Mr. Matrika Prasad Acharya |
The district consists of 10 Municipalities, out of which two are urban municipalities and eight are rural municipalities. These are as follows:[15]
| Local body | Population (2011) | Area (KM2) | Wards | Web | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi | 46903 | 246.51 | 15 | http://www.rupakotmajhuwagadhimun.gov.np/ | |
| 2 | Halesi Tuwachung | 29532 | 280.17 | 11 | http://www.halesituwachungmun.gov.np/ | |
| 3 | Khotehang | 22474 | 164.09 | 9 | http://www.khotehangmun.gov.np/ | |
| 4 | Diprung | 20175 | 136.48 | 7 | http://www.diprungmun.gov.np/ | |
| 5 | 16097 | 125.93 | 7 | http://www.aiselukharkamun.gov.np/ | ||
| 6 | Jantedhunga | 15444 | 128.62 | 6 | http://www.jantedhungamun.gov.np/ | |
| 7 | Kepilasgadhi | 15288 | 191.28 | 7 | http://www.kepilasgadhimun.gov.np/ | |
| 8 | Barahpokhari | 14349 | 141.6 | 6 | http://www.barahapokharimun.gov.np/ | |
| 9 | Rawabesi | 13369 | 97.44 | 6 | http://www.rawabesimun.gov.np/ | |
| 10 | Sakela | 11594 | 97.99 | 5 | http://www.sakelamun.gov.np/ |
Prior to the restructuring of the district, Khotang District consisted of the following municipalities and Village development committees:[16] (Before 2014, Khotang district had 76 VDC and no municipality. Diktel municipality established in 2014 merging some VDC)
The whole district is a constituency of the 165 parliament constituencies of Nepal. The district is identifies as Bhojpur 1 seat. The district is divided into two segment for provincial constituency named as Bhojpur 1(A) & Bhojpur 1(B). There are 106,534 electorates in the district.[17]
| Constituencies | Settlements | MP/MLA | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhojpur 1 | whole district | Sudan Kirati | NCP | ||
| Bhojpur 1(A) | Rajendra Kumar Rai | NCP | |||
| Bhojpur 1(B) | Bhojpur Municipality (ward no.-6-9,11,12), Tyamke Maiyunm (6-9), Pauwadungma (3-6), Ramprasad Rai, Hatuwagadhi, Aamchok | NCP | |||
Khotang District (Diktel) is connected by two means of transportation (1) By road (2) By Air.
The headquarter of Khotang District (Diktel) is connected with Sagarmatha Highway (H09), which is long 2 way road. The Sagarmatha Highway is connected with Mahendra Highway at Kadmaha (Saptari District)[18] The other Important road is Pushpalal Highway which is also called Mid-Hills Highway of Nepal. This road connects Khotang to eastern and western hill destinations directly.[19]