Biratnagar

Biratnagar is where modern Nepal's economy — and much of its politics — began. When the Biratnagar Jute Mill opened in 1936, it was the country's first large factory, processing jute grown across the eastern Tarai. Sugar, cotton and other mills followed, and the town became Nepal's industrial capital.

The strike of 1947

In March 1947, mill workers struck for better pay and the right to organise. The strike was led by young members of the Koirala family, including B.P. Koirala and Girija Prasad Koirala, who were arrested. The event is remembered as the opening of the movement that brought down the Rana regime in 1951. Three members of the family — Matrika Prasad, B.P. and Girija Prasad Koirala — later became prime ministers.

The name

Local tradition connects Biratnagar with King Virata, at whose court the Pandavas hid during their exile in the Mahabharata. The same belief runs through place names across Morang and Jhapa.

The city today

Biratnagar is a busy, flat, spread-out city of markets, hospitals and colleges, and the capital of Koshi Province. It is the best base for Koshi Tappu, the Koshi barrage and the Betana wetland, and a good place to see Chhath, when thousands gather at the rivers and ponds at dusk and dawn.

Food

Try Maithili and Bhojpuri street snacks — litti, jalebi, samosa-chaat — and fish from the Koshi rivers.