| Pyuthan Khalanga प्युठान खलङ्गा khalanga |
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|---|---|
| — District Administrative Center — | |
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Pyuthan Khalanga
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Nepal |
| Development Region | Mid-Western |
| Zone | Rapti Zone |
| District | Pyuthan District |
| District Center and VDC | Pyuthan Khalanga |
| Wards | |
| Population (2001 Census[1]) | |
| • Total | 5,061 |
| 1,066 households | |
| Time zone | Nepal Time (UTC+5:45) |
Pyuthan Khalanga or Pyuthan is a bazaar town and the administrative center of Pyuthan District, a Middle Hills district of Rapti Zone, western Nepal. It is also a Village development committee (VDC).
The town is situated on a mountainside about 500 meters above the intensively cultivated floodplain of Jhimruk Khola about 15 kilometers north of the Mahabharat Range in the Middle Hills. Besides expansive views of Jhimruk valley there are limited views of a few peaks in the western part of the Dhaulagiri range off to the north. The town is populated by government officials, by soldiers and police of Magar and other "hill tribes" and their mostly Chhetri officers, by Newar merchants, by civil servants recruited mostly from local Bahun and Chhetri castes, as well as menial castes who labor as tailors, cobblers, blacksmiths and construction workers.
Before King Gyanendra was removed from office in 2008, this district center was virtually a royalist island in a republican sea. Pyuthan district was the home base of Mohan Bikram Singh who was a charter member of the Communist Party of Nepal. Singh did extensive organizational work in his home district and other parts of Rapti Zone, resulting in local opposition to the Shah dynasty that largely ran the country. Although M. B. Singh was marginalized in leftist politics before the Nepalese Civil War broke out in 1996, his organizational work helped make Rapti Zone the "heartland" of the insurgency and left the district center vulnerable and isolated for the duration.
Pyuthan Khalanga has scheduled bus service via the east-west Mahendra Highway and a spur road from Bhalubang along the West Rapti River. This road has been paved for all-weather use.
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Khalanga (Nepali: खलङ्गा) means military barracks. It generally signifies a military post larger than a kot (Nepali: कोट).
| Ward | Lat. | Lon | Elev. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baddanda | बडडाँडा | 28°06'N | 82°53'E | 1,150m | |
| Budhachaur | बुढाचौर | 28°05'N | 82°52'E | 1,305 | |
| Dhairechaur | धैरेचौर | 28°05'N | 82°54'E | 1,423 | |
| Guti Kaseri | गुटी कसेरी | 28°05'N | 82°53'E | 1,250 | |
| Jel | जेल | 28°06'N | 82°53'E | 1,287 | |
| Kajuwa | कजुवा | 28°05'N | 82°53'E | 1,318 | |
| Karkidanda | कार्कीडाँडा | 28°06'N | 82°52'E | 918 | |
| Kaseri | कसेरी | 1 | 28°04'N | 82°54'E | 1,298 |
| Khalanga | खलङ्गा | 9 | 28°05'N | 82°53'E | 1,310 |
| Lambela | लामबेला | 28°06'N | 82°54'E | 1,350 | |
| Magargaun | मगरगाउँ | 28°05'N | 82°52'E | 1,050 | |
| Payedanda | पयेडाँडा | 28°05'N | 82°52'E | 970 | |
| Saribang | सरीबाङ | 28°06'N | 82°53'E | 1,010 | |
| Tapakot | तापाकोट | 28°05'N | 82°51'E | 1,410 | |
| Thapdanda | थापडाँडा | 8 | 28°05'N | 82°53'E | 1,130 |
| Topre | टोप्रे | 28°05'N | 82°54'E | 1,505 |
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