Bhadrapur

Bhadrapur, or Chandragadhi (Nepali: भद्रपुर), is a town and municipality in Jhapa District in the Koshi Pradesh of southeastern Nepal. It lies on the banks of the Mechi River and shares borders with Bihar on the south and West Bengal on the north. There is a border crossing with a customs office for goods. Galgalia village in Kishanganj district borders Bhadrapur. Bhadrapur is one of Nepal's oldest municipalities. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, it had a population of 18,164. Bhadrapur Airport has flights to Kathmandu. This airport is the best way to reach Kathmandu from the eastern part of Nepal and India (i.e., West Bengal and Sikkim). Bhadrapur is one of the most multi-cultural cities in Nepal. In this city live people from all the districts of Nepal and others who migrated from India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Different ethnic and religious backgrounds, such as Rajbanshi, Dhimal, Meche, Brahmin, Chhetri, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tamang, Madbadi, Bengali, Muslim, etc., live in Bhadrapur by maintaining cordial relations, peace, and harmony among the people. Bhadrapur is the "tea city" of Nepal. It is a starting point for tourist attractions. A few hours' ride north takes one close to the Himalayas. There are good roads up to a height of around 3,700 metres (12,100 ft). Bhadrapur has important governmental and other infrastructure, including a zonal hospital, airport, Mechi Multiple campuses, different schools, Mahendra Park, stadium police and military headquarters, and hosts the Central District Offices. However, due to the construction of the Mahendra Highway or East-West Highway (north of Bhadrapur), economic activities have shifted north to the junction of the highway Birtamod. This has left Bhadrapur with a receding population and crippled its once-booming economic activity. In the last decade, Bhadrapur has slowly transformed itself into a tea hub with new plantations and tea factories being established every year. The much-awaited Mechi Bridge joining Bhadrapur to India (Galgalia) is now constructed and acts as a lifeline to the revitalization of Bhadrapur as well as the far eastern part of Nepal. There is a checkpoint at the border.