Birtamod

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Coordinates: 26°38′N 87°59′E / 26.633, 87.983
Birtamod (बिर्तमोद), Birtamode
Birtamod (बिर्तमोद), Birtamode
Country	Nepal
Zone	Mechi
District	Jhapa
Elevation	300 m (984 ft)
Population (2001)
- Total	27,762
Time zone	GMT+5:45 (UTC0545)

Birtamod or Birtamode (बिर्तमोद) is a small city located on Nepal's easternmost district of Jhapa (झापा), (Mechi Zone). Birtamod is one of the major gateways to eastern India, particularly places like Siliguri, Darjeeling (दार्जीलिङ्) and Sikkim and is the stopping hub for most Nepalese students and tourists traveling to and from West Bengal and Sikkim. Birtamod is the commercial, educational and transport hub of Jhapa District.Sainik Bazar (सैनिक् बजार्), Sanischare (सनीस्चरे), Charaali and Chaarpane (चार्पन) are some of the nearest local Towns /settlements connected to Birtamod.

1 Transportation
2 Demography
3 Climate
4 Industry and Agriculture
5 Development and Communications
6 Culture
7 Incidents
8 Footnotes

[edit] Transportation

Birtamod is connected to all parts of the country by a central highway, the Mahendra Rajmarg (महेन्द्र राज्मार्ग्) which runs throughout the length of the country from east to west. Chandragadhi Airport is located in Chandragadhi (चन्द्रगधि) (about 20 Kilometers from Birtamod) and serves 3 to 4 daily flights to and from Kathmandu. Buddha Air, and Yeti Airways are some of the airlines that have daily flights to and from Kathmandu (काठमाडौं), the capital of Nepal.

Major Cities Nearby

Siliguri, India
Biratnagar
Chandragadhi

[edit] Demography

Birtamod has a small population, and the major ethnicities living there are Rai, Tharu, Limbu, Newar, Chhettri, Brahmins and various others. Majority of the people in Birtamod are Kirant's and Hindu's are the largest in majority but have significant numbers of Muslims and Buddhists.

As of 2001, the official total population of Birtamod stood at 27,762. Male population was 14,219, female population was 13,543 and the number of households were 5,899^[1]. However, current population is much more than from 2001. The latest figure is estimated at about 34500^[2].

[edit] Climate

Climate of Birtamod is very hot and humid during summer, and mild and dry during winter. During the summer, temperatures can reach 40 degree Celsius, and the low in winter is about 12 degree Celsius. Rainfall is abundant during the monsoon season (June-September). There is little or no rainfall during winter, which makes it ideal for harvesting crops such as rice, wheat and Mustard.

Season	Span (Hindu calendar)	Span (Georgian calendar)	Characteristics
Basanta बसन्त (Spring)	Chaitra-Baisakh	March-April	Around 25-30 degrees, marriage season
Grishma ग्रिश्मा (Summer)	Jestha-Ashad	May-June	Very hot, Up to 40 degrees temperature, farmers gear up for rice planting
Barsha बर्खा (Monsoon)	Shrawn-Bhadra	July-August	Very hot, very humid and heavy monsoon rains, Krishna Janma Asthami (Birth of Lord Krishna) celebrations
Sharad षरद (Autumn)	Ashwin-Kartik	September-October	Mild temperatures, festive season of Dashain and Tihar
Hemanta हेमन्त (Pre winter)	Mangshir-Pausha	November-December	Very pleasant temperatures (20-25 degrees), farmers reap the rice
Sishir सिशिर (Winter)	Magh-Falgun	January-February	Quite cold, But very pleasant during occasional sunshine. Temperatures can go below 10 degrees.

[edit] Industry and Agriculture

Because of the fertile soil, the land around Birtamod is well suited for agriculture. Rice, Wheat, Mustard and Tea are some of the crops that are grown seasonally. Rice and Wheat is cultivated during the monsoon season when there is abundant rainfall, and harvested during the dry winter months. Several large Tea Estates and processing factories are located just east of Birtamod. Giri Bandhu Tea Estate (गिरी बन्धु चिया बगान), New Giri Bandhu and Sons Tea Estate, and Buttabari Tea Processing are the major ones.

[edit] Development and Communications

Birtamod is a developing and growing town like most others' in Nepal. The main area of Birtamod is a rapidly growing town with new building complexes, homes and local businesses constantly being built. Although the town is developing, communication infrastructure is properly established. The town is properly wired for telephone and Internet Access (Dial-up, ISDN, ADSL) provided by Nepal Telecom (NTC). Several local cable distributors provide Cable TV access to most of the town and the surrounding local establishments.

[edit] Culture

The culture of birtamod is a mix of cultures of various ethnicities, but these two festival seasons are the most important (Partly because of Nepal's 88% population being Hindu's).

Dashain: (दशै) Dashain is celebrated by the Hindu's and is an exciting time for families to get together and meet relatives and each other. This festival last for 15 days. Celebrations and shopping are common during this time and so are religious ceremonies.
Tihar and Diwali: (तिहार) Tihar lasts 5 days, and among the days is a day called Laxmi Puja which coincides with Diwali. Diwali is a Hindu festival of lights and colors. People light up their house with little lamps called diya, generally fueled with mustard oil and burst firecrackers all night long during the 5 days of Tihar.

[edit] Incidents

March 22, 2006: Nine policemen and three Maoist rebels were killed during a clash at Birtamod police station and traffic office. A group of Maoists, loaded in three trucks attacked the office at around 7:00AM. In the attack, 20 policemen and 2 civilians were injured. The injured civilians were under detention and were being held in police custody when the attack took place. Most of the injured policemen were airlifted to Kathmandu for immediate medical treatment because the local hospitals where not able to handle severe trauma victims. Several Maoists rebels were also killed and injured when the truck carrying the rebels overturned during retreat^[3].