Gandaki Province (Nepali: गण्डकी प्रदेश, romanized:Gaṇḍakī pradēśa[ɡʌɳɖʌki]) Listenⓘ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015.[1]Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China to the north, Bagmati Province to the east, Karnali Province to the west, and Lumbini Province and Bihar of India to the south. The total area of the province is 21,504km2 - constituting 14.57% of Nepal's total area. According to the latest census, the population of the province was 2,479,745.[2] The newly elected Provincial Assembly adopted Gandaki Province as the permanent name by replacing its initial name Province No. 4 on 27 April 2023. Surendra Raj Pandey is the present chief minister of Gandaki Province.
Gandaki Province was named after the river Gandaki, which is a major river in the province. This river has important links with historical Hindu civilization.[citation needed] The Gandaki river is mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata.[citation needed] It has been said that Valmiki wrote the great epic Ramayana here.[citation needed] It is also believed to be the birthplace of Luv & Kush. Its evolution is described in Shiva Purana, Kumarakhand, in the chapter of the killing of Shankhachuda.
Gandaki province was once home to the Chaubisi Rajya, the 24 kings, of which Gorkha was one. From Gorkha, Prithvi Narayan Shah arose to unify all the kingdoms and expand to include all of present-day Nepal.[citation needed] Gandaki Province was known as "Gandak Kshetra" which was established in 1956. Gandak Kshetra was composed by grouping the then 4 districts. Those 4 districts are now divided into many districts. Gandak Kshetra had total area of 5,400 square miles (14,000km2) and total population was 12 Lakhs.[3] The four districts were:
In 1962, the administrative system was restructured again and the "Kshetras" system was canceled. The country was restructured into 75 development districts and those districts were grouped into zones.[4] In 1972 area of the Gandaki Province named Western Development Region. It had 3 zones and 16 districts.
Geography
The province has an area of 21,773km2 which is about 14.66% of the total area of Nepal. The state extends between 27°20′N–29°20′N latitude and 82°52′E–85°12′E longitude. In terms of terrain, the province is spread over the Himalayan, Hilly and Terai region of Nepal; 5,919km2 (26.8%) of the area falls under the Himalayan region, 14,604km2 (67.2%) of the area falls under the Hilly region and 1,310km2 (6%) of the area falls under the Terai region.[5]
Average temperatures and precipitation for selected communities in Gandaki[6]
As of the 2021 census, Gandaki Province has a population of 2,466,427. 6.85% of the population was under 5 years of age. Gandaki Province has a literacy rate of 81.65% and a sex ratio of 1107 females per 1000 males.[7]
Ethnicity
Castes/ethnic groups in Gandaki Province (2021)[8]
Khas people are the largest ethnicity in the province, making up 53% of the population. Bahun are the largest group, making up 20% of the population. Of these Khas Dalits are 18% of the population. Hill Janjatis are the second-largest group in the province, making up 38% of the population. Of these Magars are the largest group, making up 19% of the population. Other large groups include the Gurung (11%) and Tamang (2%). Newars are 4% of the population, and Tharus are nearly 2% of the population.[8]
Nepali is the most common mother tongue in the province with 73.39% of the population speaking Nepali as their mother tongues. The second-largest language is Magar (10%). 8.44% speak Gurung, 1.74% Tharu, 1.53% Nepal Bhasha and 1.36% Tamang.[9] Magar is mostly spoken in Nawalpur, Syangja and Tanahun districts, while Gurung and other Tibetic languages are spoken in Gorkha, Lamjung, Kaski, Manang and Mustang districts. A small population of Tharus live in Nawalpur district.
Hinduism is the most followed religion in the province, with 82.22% of the population identifying as Hindus. Buddhists are the largest minority population with 11.54% of the population following Buddhism and Christianity is followed by 2.36% of the population in the province. Bon is practiced by 2.17% of the population, Islam by 0.91% and Prakriti by 0.67%.[11]
Gandaki province is divided into 11 districts, which are listed below. A district is administered by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided into municipalities or rural municipalities. The municipalities include one metropolitan city and 26 municipalities. There are 58 rural municipalities in the province.[12]
The Provincial Assembly of Gandaki Province is formed under Article 175 of the Constitution of Nepal 2015 which guarantees a provincial legislative for each province in the country. The first provincial elections were conducted for all seven provinces in Nepal and the elections in Gandaki Province was conducted for 60 seats to the assembly. The first meeting of the provincial assembly was held on 4 February 2018. Netra Nath Adhikari from Maoist Centre was elected as the first speaker of the provincial assembly, and Srijana Sharma from CPN (UML) as the first deputy speaker of the provincial assembly.
Gandaki Province has a unicameral legislature, like that of the other provinces in Nepal. The tenure of the provincial assembly is of five years. The Provincial Assembly of Gandaki Province is temporarily housed at the Urban Development Training Centre in Pokhara.[19]
The economy of the province is largely dependent on tourism.
Infrastructure
Roadways
9 out of 11 districts of Gandaki Province are connected via surfaced roads. Road connections to Mustang and Manang are unsurfaced and can be impassable during the rainy season. Siddhartha Highway connects Lumbini to Gandaki. The highway starts at the Nepal-India Border in Siddharthanagar and terminates at Prithivi chowk, Pokhara. The major settlements on the highway are Siddharthanagar, Butwal, Tansen, Waling, Putalibazar, Syangja, and Pokhara.
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