Bihsud District
Bihsud District is a district of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. The district, which contains 40 main villages, is located around the city Jalalabad, spanning both sides of the Kabul River. The district was previously a unit which contained the city of Jalalabad, but in 2004 the city became independently administered under the municipality system, and the portions of the district not contained within the city became Bihsud District. Oranges, rice, and sugarcane grow in the fertile district, and the capital city has cane-processing and sugar-refining as well as papermaking industries. The district's year-round summery weather attracts many visitors.
History
Greco-Buddhist era
In the past Jalalabad was the major city of the ancient Greco-Buddhist center of Gandhara. The Buddhist pilgrim Faxian visited the district around the year 400AD, and his travelogue described the many Buddhist sanctuaries in the area. The archaeological site of the city of Hadda is located in the district, and was a Buddhist center from the time of Kanishka, with statues of the Buddha as high as sixty-six feet.Prior to the Islamic conquest, the Buddhist Kingdom of Kapisi stretched from Bamiyan to Jalalabad District.
Communications
In September 2003, Internews established a Radio Sharq independent station in Jalalabad District.August 1, 2007 marked the grand opening of the new District Communications Center. The construction of the DCC had started more than nine months before by Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan, but was handed over to the Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team to oversee completion. The new building was eventually signed over from the Nangarhar PRT to Amirzi Sengi, Minister of Communications.
Governance
In an Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit survey conducted on 11 February 2008, respondents in Behsud district noted that problems in the community had previously been solved by gatherings of elders in a jirga which would meet when necessary. The relationship between this pattern of dispute resolution and the Community Development Council role was not entirely clear, but seemed to involve consultation between both types of institution in the case of small problems, such as youth opium addiction, and perhaps less in more important cases. On the other hand, this community mentioned the role of maliks and uluswal as well, noting these institutions had played roles in dispute resolution, but usually in a negative way through their favouritism or likelihood to be corrupt. Moreover, the unpopularity of the malik and the uluswal could have resulted in a heightened awareness of responsibility for community issues.Demographics
, the ethnic makeup of the district was approximately 95% Pashtun, 3% Arabs of Afghanistan and 2% Pashai. There were also 135 Hindu and Sikh families. The Khogiani tribe is centered in the area around Jalalabad.Records from 1885 indicate the presence of Afghan Arabs (almost entirely Pashto speaking, who were described as pastoralists and agriculturalists.
In 2019, a population survey conducted by National Statistics and Information Authority estimated that total population of the district is 126,262, including 62,117 women and 64,145 men. All of them were living in rural area.
Health
Jalalabad district has three hospitals: Fatumatu Zahra, Medical Hospital of Nangarhar, and the General Hospital of Public Health. The General Hospital of Public Health is one of the largest in the country.As of July 24, 2004, polio has been identified and reported in the Jalalabad district area. This specific case has been linked to others reported in the past due to the highly transient and mobile population.