Sundarijal

Sundarijal सुन्दरीजल
Village development committee
The waterfall Sweet Sixteen, Sundarijal, Nepal
Sundarijal Location in Nepal
Coordinates: 27°43′46.20″N 85°24′23.45″E / 27.7295000°N 85.4065139°ECoordinates: 27°43′46.20″N 85°24′23.45″E / 27.7295000°N 85.4065139°E
Country	Nepal
Zone	Bagmati Zone
District	Kathmandu District
Area
• Total	5.18 km^2 (2.00 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	2,586
• Density	500/km^2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	Nepal Time (UTC+5:45)
Postal code	44603
Area code(s)	01

Sundarijal is a village development committee in Kathmandu District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal.

History

The VDC was named after the Hindu goddess, Sundarimai. A temple is dedicated to the deity in Sundarijal.^[1]

In 1960, the Sundarijal Military Detention Camp was the location of Nepali Congress leaders B.P. Koirala (the Prime Minister), Ganesh Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Diwan Singh Rai, Ram Narayan Mishra, Yogendra Man Sherchan, and Jaman Singh Gurung. They were held without trial for eight years due to their participation in a 1960 coup.^[2]

Geography and climate

Geographical situation

View of Bagmati River from Sundarijal

Sundarijal is located 15 kilometres (9 mi) northeast of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. It is west of Gagalphedi, east of Nayapati and Baluwa, and north of Aalapot. The VDC touches Nuwakot and Sindhulpalchok Districts to the north.^[1]

Sundarijal covers an area of 5.18 square kilometres (2 sq mi). The Bagmati River flows through the VDC, where it is joined by the Shyalmati and Nagmati Rivers. Largely hilly in its terrain with few flat areas, the VDC is covered by forests. Shivapuri National Park covers large amounts of the Sundarijal.^[1]

Climate

The climate of Sundarijal is temperate. The average for the summer is 25.5˚C while that for the winter is 0˚C.^[1]

Demographics

At the time of the 2011 Nepal census Sundarijal had a population of 2,552 living in 547 individual households.^[3] For the 2001 census Sundarijal had a population of 2586 in 444 individual households. Sixty percent of the townsfolk are Buddhists, while a 40% minority of Hindus are present.^[1]

Below is the population and households of Sundarijal's four wards:

#	Households	Male	Female	Total
1	30	86	88	174
2	104	278	295	573
3	51	117	118	235
4	54	113	136	249
5	37	149	105	254
6	32	89	86	175
7	35	95	105	200
8	35	175	132	307
9	66	209	210	419
	444	1311	1275	2586[1]

Economy

Agriculture

Rice farming at Sundarijal

Agriculture in the VDC is only present in the eight ward. No modern technology for this is in existence, as farmers only use traditional techniques. In the northern part of the ward, the predominate crops are millet and maize, although cultivation also includes barley and some vegetables. In the southern area, wheat, barley, maize, potato, vegetables and millet are grown.^[1]

Tourism

Canyoing at Sundarijal

Tourism is a large industry in Sundarijal. It is a famous place for Canyoning. Pollution has risen in the Sundarijal reservoir due to large amounts of tourists who crowd the VDC every weekend.^[4] They are attracted to the area's natural beauty, including the waterfalls and rivers. People from Kathmandu valley come due to being about an hour drive away. In addition, the VDC is a starting point for hikers along the Langtang Range. There are several picnic tables to meet the needs of tourists.^[1]

Various trekking route also lies in Sundarijal. Among them Sundarijal to Chesapani trek is famous one which covers almost 22 km distance.^[5]

Culture

The main cultural sites in Sundarijal are the temples of Sundarimai Mandir, Ganesh Mandir, and Krishna Mandir. In July, the Dashahara festival is celebrated near bodies of water close to the temples.^[1] National Scout Training Center situated here is also the attraction of tourists.

Infrastructure

A 640 kW hydropower plant near the bus park area provides electricity to Sundarijal. A mail post and police station are also located here.^[1]

There is a US$464 million drinking water project that would bring water from Melamchi, treat it, and distribute it in Sundarijal. A pipeline 58 kilometres (36 mi) in length would be laid in Sundarijal to other places in the Kathmandu Valley.^[6] It will start pumping 170 million liters of water daily in 2011 or 2012.^[7]

Education

About 90% of townsfolk can read or write, though less than that number are fully literate. Members of the younger generation under 25 years of are more likely to be literate than those over 40 years old. Classes to teach this to older adults have existed in the past, though they are no longer due to low attendance.^[1]

There are four schools in Sundarijal, whose attendance is shown below:

#	Male	Female	Total
1	214	200	414
2	57	44	101
3	90	67	157
4	70	57	127
	431	368	799[1]

Biodiversity

A view of Shivapuri National Park from Sundarijal

Sundarijal's vegetation consists of mostly pine, oak, rhododendron, and other forest types. Wildlife recorded in the area include the Himalayan black bear, leopard, jungle cat, and rhesus monkey. The area around Sundarijal is the habitat of 177 species of birds, which includes at least nine threatened species, 102 species of butterflies with several endangered species, and 129 species of mushrooms.^[1]

References

1. Khadka, R.B. (2005). "Integrative Microdevelopment in Sundarijal?". Nepal Study Center. University of New Mexico. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
2. "Picture of Sundarijal Military Detention Camp". Nepali Congress. Archived from the original on 2002-08-02. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
3. http://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/VDC_Municipality.pdf
4. Phuyal, Surendra (2001-06-03). "Put on your hiking boots and...". Sunday Post (The Kathmandu Post). Archived from the original on December 24, 2005. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
5. "Sundarijal Hiking.".
6. ""Exorbitant" land price obstructs Melamchi Project". The Rising Nepal. 2002-02-10. Archived from the original on October 7, 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
7. Sangraula, Bikash (2007-03-09). "ADB to trim Melamchi by US $ 114 m". eKantipur. Retrieved 2008-10-08.