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Brief Introduction
Letang Municipality area was the capital of Dhimals in ancient times. There is a legend that there was a palace of Dhimal Raja at the place where there is Rajarani Pond, which can be reached after crossing the Chisang River, which is located in the west of Letang Bazar. Therefore, it is said that the name Letang came from the Dhimal language of the old inhabitants of this area. The tribals here are Dhimals. Letang is believed to be named after the Dhimal language word Leta. In the ancient Dhimal language, Leta means flat land that has come down from the mountains. Looking from the Rajarani Hill, known as Dhimal Pokhari, one can see the flat terrain of current Letang connected to the Hills. That is why the Dhimals called it Leta. At that time, Leta was full of forests. While pronouncing the word Leta at that time, it must have been corrupted and became Letang. On that basis, that land was called Letang. It is understood that the same Leta became the current Letang.
When searching for the historical background of the Letang Municipality area, this area was included in the ancient prehistoric state. Later, when Matsya Desh was separated from it, Letang region fell into Matsya Desh. Sometimes this region came under the rule of Mithila, Pundra and Kirantas and was ruled by the local rulers. Similarly, after the establishment of Vijayapur state, Letang area remained under Vijayapur.
It is said that the Letang area was covered by dense forest at that time. There were small settlements of people of some ethnic groups on the banks of the river. Due to the dense forests, people had to live on the banks of rivers and at the foot of mountains. The remains of old settlements occasionally found in the Letang area indicate this. Many such ancient remains have been found around Letang. Some of them have been destroyed and some have not yet been exposed.
After Vijaya Narayan in Vijayapur of Morang, Palpali Senraja Lohangsen captured it and this region came under the control of Palpali Sens. When Palpali Sen state was divided, Lohangsen got Makwanpur east of Narayani, so this part also came under Makwanpur. Similarly, Hariharsen's grandson Vidhata Indrasen made Vijayapur a separate state from Makwanpur, and Letang and other places became an integral part of Vijayapur. Before Senekal, a Rajouta named Dhanpal was ruling in Kaseni (currently Belbari Municipality 5), which is in the south of Letang. The remains of his capital and palace are still there. It is protected by the local people, which is known as Dhanpalgadhi. Over time, Dhanpal Rajauta fell. Dhanpal's kingdom merged in Vijayapur. On the other hand, Vijayapur also seems to have come under the control of the Senas from the local Rajauta. With the unification of Nepal in 1831 B.S. by Prithvi Narayan Shah, this area was also merged into greater Nepal.
Ever since Nepal was divided into 14 zones and 75 districts in 2018 B.S., the area occupied by the current Letang Municipality remained as the northern part of Morang district. In the year 2071 B.S., after combination of Letang and Bhogteni V.D.C together, Letang Bhogteni Municipality was formed. According to the report of the Local Level Restructuring Commission 2073 during the restructuring of the state of the Federal Republic of Nepal adopted by the Constitution of Nepal 2072, all except ward 1 of Letangbhogateni Municipality, wards 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Jante Village Development Committee and all the wards of Warangi Village Development Committee have been combined to form Letang Municipality on 27/11/2073 B.S.
Geographical division
Letang Municipality is located at 26° 20' to 26° 53' north latitude and 87° 16' to 87° 41' east longitude. Letang Bazar is the center of Letang Municipality which is connected with two rural municipalities in the northern part of Morang district. The headquarters of Morang district is located at a distance of 49 km from Biratnagar to the north. Looking at the map of Letang Municipality, it has slender shape to the north-south direction. There are currently 9 wards in Letang Municipality. The structure of its at the construction time is as follows. :
1. Ward No. 1 :- Combining Ward No.2, 3 and 4 of former Letangbhogateni Municipality.
2. Ward No. 2 :- Combining Wards No. 5 and 6 of former Letangbhogateni Municipality.
3. Ward No. 3 :- Ward No. 7 of former Letangbhogateni Municipality only.
4. Ward No. 4 :- Ward No. 8 of former Letangbhogateni Municipality only.
5. Ward No. 5 :- Combining Ward No. 9 and 10 of former Letangbhogateni Municipality.
6. Ward No. 6 :- Ward No. 11 of former Letangbhogateni Municipality only.
7. Ward No. 7 :- Combining Wards No. 1 to 9 of former Warangi Village Development Committee.
8. Ward No. 8 :- Ward No. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 of former Jante Village Development Committee are combined.
9. Ward No. 9 :- Combining Ward No. 8 and 9 of former Jante Village Development Committee .
To reach the office of Letang Municipality, one has to go from district headquarters Biratnagar to North Itahari or from Pushpalalchowk to Kanepokhari via Biratchowk and from there 8 km to the north. This municipality also includes Terai terrain and the Mahabharat mountain range which is cold for twelve months. Geographical heterogeneity is the main feature of this municipality. This municipality is a metropolitan city of Morang district and one of the eight municipalities including hilly terrain.
The border of the municipality is connected with Miklajung Rural Municipality in the east, Kerabari Rural Municipality in the west, Chaubise Rural Municipality of Dhankuta district in the north and four local levels of Morang in the south: Belbari Municipality, Patharishanishchare Municipality, Kanepokhari Rural Municipality and Urlabari Municipality. Even though the geographical environment of the municipality is different, there is a situation where development works have to be done competitively with neighboring municipalities.
In terms of land use of this municipality, which extends through the Terai and Chure areas to the Mahabharat mountain range, most of the land is occupied by agricultural areas and forests. According to the 2078 census, the population of this municipality is 38,152 people. Its area is 219.23 square km. The population density here is 174 people per square kilometer. Currently, according to the on-site survey 2080 conducted by Letang Municipality for the city profile, it appears that there are 8,664 households and a population of 38,117 in this municipality. Currently, the population density per square kilometer is 173.86. Analyzing on this basis, Letang Municipality is among the municipalities with the lowest population and the lowest population density among the nine municipalities of Morang District.
Letang Municipality occupies 3.32 percent of Morang district's total population of 11,48,156 (according to 2078 census) and 11.82 percent of total area of 1,855 square kilometers.
1. Political and administrative boundaries:
To the East: Miklajung Rural Municipality
To the West: Kerabari Rural Municipality
To the North: Chauvise Rural Municipality of Dhankuta District
To the South: Patharishanishchare Municipality, Belbari Municipality, Kanepokhari Rural Municipality and Urlabari Municipality.
2. Political and administrative divisions:
Constituency No. : 1(B)
Wards : 9 Nos
District: Morang
Province: Koshi
For more information, see the city profile at https://letangmun.gov.np/ne/publications.