Gaindakot

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Gaindakot

Gaindakot (also written as Gaidakot) /Guyn-daa-kowt/ Nepali: गैंडाकोट is a small town of Nawalparasi District, next to Narayangarh, Chitwan in Nepal. The official name of this place is Adarsha Gaindakot Village development committee it is located in the bank of Narayani River and is backed by numerous mountains. Dhodeni, Keladi (west of Devghat) and Hardi situated on the north and eastern side Gaindakot municipality are sparsely populated areas in Gaindakot with no proper motorways. Since Gaindakot is just across the famous Narayanghat (or Bharatpur, Nepal) city, it has got ample opportunities for development and the population has been growing at a fast pace with Gaindakot's population recording to 33,416 according to 2011 census. Gaindakot is situated at an average altitude of about 150m from sea level.

Attractions

Maula Kalika

Gaindakot is famous nationwide for Maula Kalika temple and for Maula hill hiking. The temple is situated at the top of the Maula hill mountain (approx 600 m above sea level) where people climb around 2 km long trail. Maula Kalika is popular for its 360-degree panoramic view of the entire Chitwan valley including Chitwan National Park on the south and Mt. Manaslu and Kaligandaki river on the north. The temple is famous for sunrise view also. Many high-ranking officials of Nepal, including presidents, former kings and foreign dignitaries, have visited the temple. Dasain (Vijayadashami or Bada Dasain) festival in Sept-October and in March–April (Chaite Dasain) are peak seasons. Maula Kalika is the symbol of Hindu goddess Kali or Kalika is associated with eternal energy, the symbol of power, harmony and new beginning.Subha Lamichhane`s house can be seen from there.

Dhodeni

Dhodeni is located on the northern part of Gaindakot's hilly area sand-witched by two mountains at an altitude of about 300 m from sea level. Dhodeni is populated by Gurung, Magar and some Kumal tribes within few hundred houses. Dhodeni is widely popular for traditional dance and party events during festive seasons around October.

Narayani River

Kaligandakit river and Narayani River flows north, east and south of Gaindakot. Narayani river is the deepest and also one of the biggest rivers of Nepal. The Narayani Bridge over the river connects Chitwan District with Nawalparasi District of Nepal. Small islands, like Nagarban in Narayani river are popular picnic spots. Eastern side of the Narayani river bank in Gaindakot is regarded as the holy site for Hindu rituals and well as a playground for school children. For long time Narayani river had been a life-line of Gaindakotie as the main source of drinking water supply irrespective of the season and water quality until late 1990s.

Narayangadh

Narayangadh in Bharatpur city, is the main shopping and commercial area for Gaindakot residents. Is the main transit point for all the vehicles traveling via east-west Mahendra Highway and also for the people traveling from Kathmandu, Gorkha, and Pokhara through Mugling road. Devghat is an important religious site for elderly people of Gaindakot.

Recently, Narayangarh has become a retail and commercial capital of whole Chitwan district and Bharatpur Municipality. It is also the center for hospitality industry which includes Hotels, Lodges, Restaurants etc. and transportation hub for Chitwan district.

Lumbini

Gaindakot is an entry point of Lumbini on the eastern side of the Lumbini Zone. Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, a World Heritage Site, is situated about 130 km. west of Gaindakot. Lumbini is also the administrative zone of Gaindakot VDC.

Chitwan National Park

Nearby Chitwan National Park, a World Heritage Site, is home to one horn rhino's, elephants, royal Bengal tigers, crocodiles, deers and many other wild animals. It is the third largest tourist destination in Nepal after Kathmandu and Pokhara. Gaindakot's name is derived from the rhino, as rhino's are said to be once dominating Gaindakot plains until the mid 20th century.

Institutions

Schools & Colleges

There are several schools in this small town, educating thousands of children. These schools are Vijaya Community Higher Secondary School, Namuna Higher Secondary School, Bal Bikash English Boarding School, Sarshwoti Bording School, Kalika Secondary School, Janak Higher Secondary School, Shree Nepal Rashtriya Shamsher Adarsha Secondary School, Shining English Boarding School and Continental English Bording School trimurti vidhaya sadan etc.

  • Oxford college of engineering and management, Gaindakot, based on bank of Narayani River. It offers courses like BBA, BCA,BE etc.
  • Surya Bhakta Patana Devi Memorial College.
  • Shree Janak College.

Financial Institutions

There are few banks and cooperatives in Gaindakot serving the banking needs of local communities in Gaindakot and to the residents of Nawalparasi District. These are Gaindakot Development Bank, Rising Development Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank and Gaindakot Bikash Bitiya Shanstha Ltd. Western Union Money transfer services is also available in Gaindakot. People of Gaindakot are more reliable on banking and financial services available in Narayanghat. There are about 40 Banks and Financial Institution in Narayanghat.

Agriculture

Rice field in Gaindakot Town in Nawalparasi, Lumbini Nepal.

Gaindakot's plain land is suitable for agriculture. Rice, wheat, mustard, corn, millet, and potato are among the crops grown across the seasons in Gaindakot.

The land on the northern area of East-West national highway before the hilly area is traditionally used for farming due to the better irrigation system. Farmers and peasants in Gaindakot are reliable on monsoon season as the most efficient irrigation source.

A small irrigation dam is located on the way toward Dhodeni, north of Ranital. Farming in Gaindakot is non-dependent on modern farm equipment except tractors and is mostly conducted through "Kuto-Kodali", the traditional way of Nepali agriculture.

Industries

There are few small to big industries in Gaindakot. Nepal's only paper factory, the "Bhrikuti Paper and Pulp" factory is located in Gaindakot. Gaindakot has got some small scale textile industries, boring industries, metal industries and gas refilling industries. Dynamic Towel Industry, M G Textile are based in Gaindakot. The "Bhrikuti Paper and Pulp" factory has been shut down since 2011 due to some unknown reasons. Chitwan Match Factory once established in the late 1980s operating from Jajua on the east of Gaindakot town has been shut down in the 1990s probably due to the shift of market demand on lighter.

Entertainment & Communication

"Kalika music FM", "Kalika FM","Chitwan Online FM" covering Gaindakot operate from Bharatpur. In addition to private operators services government's radio and television channels is also available. International satellite television channels like CNN, BBC, STAR TV, NDTV, ESPN, NHK World, National Geographic, Discovery Channel are also widely viewed channels. Land line telephone services and mobile telephone services are available to the majority of areas. There are multiple private Internet service providers operating from Bharatpur. Dhaulagiri cinema hall, the only movie theater in Gaindakot's Maula Kalika road is not in service.

Transportation

Bharatpur Airport located on the south of Gaindakot is the nearest airport connecting to Kathmandu. Four domestic airlines and one government airline make 7 to 11 flights a day. Mahendra (East West) Highway connects Gaindakot to Kankarbhitta in the east to Mahendranagar in the west of the country while another highway connects Gaindakot with Kathmandu and Pokhara via Narayangadh. Bus, Micro bus and other land transportation are available for long route journey and for internal transportation taxi, rickshaw and car/jeep hiring is available from Pulchok Narayangadh, next to Narayani bridge. Transportation facilities within Gaindakot has developed a lot over the past few years. Now most of the roads are pitched especially the areas nearby Mahendra Highway. Large number of people use motor bikes, bicycles, few use private car. Public transportation are regularly available across the highway and from pulchowk to maulakalika hill base.

NPO/NGO

SAHAMATI ('consensus' in Nepali), is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization established in 2001 has its headquarter in Gaindakot. It works for equitable development with community-centered approach, focusing on social justice and social transformation, human rights development and self-help promotion in cooperation with similar international organizations.

External & Related links

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