Kanchanpur District
Dodhara Chadani Jholunge pul Kanchanpur District in the Mahakali Zone is Nepal’s most western district in the Tarai and shares its southern and western borders with India. Its population is one of the fastest growing in the country, mainly due to migration from the northern hills and partly due to the influx of the Tharus from adjoining districts in the east. In 1971, Kanchanpur had the population of 68,863; in 1991 it increased almost by four folds to 257,906 and in 2011 it increased to 451,248. The district is divided into 11 Ilakas (sub-districts), 19 VDCs and one municipality – Mahendra Nagar. Forest covers some 54 percent of its area including 311 sq. km under a Wildlife Reserve. Over 36 percent land is under cultivation and 20 percent of it is irrigated. Only a few decades ago, Kanchanpur was a malarial forest inhabited by the indigenous Tharus. But today, it has become heterogeneous. In 1871,the Tharus represented 43 percent of the total population; in 1991 the proportion