Mechi Zone facts for kids
Mechi (मेची अञ्चल) was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal. It was located in the eastern part of Nepal, and its main city was Ilam. Mechi was also part of the Eastern Development Region. This zone had four districts.
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Where is Mechi Zone?
The Mechi Zone was located in the far east of Nepal. To its east were Sikkim and West Bengal in India. To the south was Bihar, also in India. The Koshi Zone was to its west, and the Tibet Autonomous Region in China was to its north.
Mechi was the smallest zone in the Eastern Development Region. It covered an area of about 8,196 square kilometers (3,165 sq mi). Around 1,422,182 people lived there in 2011. This means there were about 173 people living in every square kilometer.
The most important river in the Mechi Zone is the Mechi. This river flows into the Mahananda River. Another river in the zone is the Tamar River.
In the northern part of Mechi, especially in the Taplejung district, you can find very high mountains. These are part of the eastern Himalayas. The highest mountain there is Kanchenjunga (कञ्चनजङ्घा Kanchanjaŋghā). It stands at 8,586 meters (28,169 ft) tall, making it the third highest mountain in the world! Kanchenjunga is on the border with Sikkim and is part of the Kanchanjungha Conservation Area.
Districts of Mechi Zone
The Mechi Zone was divided into four main areas called Districts. These districts were further split into smaller administrative units called Village Development Committees (VDCs) or Municipalities. There were 190 of these smaller units in total.
Here are the four districts of Mechi Zone:
| District | Nepali Name | Population (2011) |
Area (km²) |
People per km² |
VDCs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilam | इलाम | 290,254 | 1,703 | 170.4 | 49 |
| Jhapa | झापा | 812,650 | 1,606 | 506.0 | 50 |
| Panchthar | पाँचथर | 191,817 | 1,241 | 154.6 | 41 |
| Taplejung | ताप्लेजुङ | 127,461 | 3,646 | 35.0 | 50 |
| Total | 1,422,182 | 8,196 | 173.5 | 190 |
Important Towns and Cities
Many of the largest towns and cities in Mechi Zone were found in the Jhapa district. For example, the municipality of Damak had about 75,102 people, and Mechinagar had about 57,545 people. Other important places in Jhapa included Anarmani (42,712 people), Surunga (27,470 people), and Satasidham (26,171 people).
In the Ilam district, the main municipality was Ilam itself, with about 18,633 people. Other notable places included Chulachuli (17,324 people), Danabari (14,302 people), and Phikal Bazar (11,264 people).
In the Panchthar district, Phidim was the most important VDC, with around 17,399 people. In the Taplejung district, Phungling was the main town, with about 14,974 people.
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Mechi zone in Nepal
