Ilam Municipality
Ilam is one of four urban municipalities of Ilam District, which lies in the Mahabharata hilly range of Koshi Province, eastern Nepal. Ilam also acts as the headquarters of Ilam District. Being the largest producer region for Nepali tea, its tea farms are a major tourist attraction in Koshi Province. Ilam is also famous for its natural scenery and landscapes as well as its diverse agricultural economy which specializes in horticultural crop production.
The total area of the municipality is and the total population is 48,536 as per the 2011 Nepal census. The municipality is divided into 12 wards. The 74 kilometer section of Mechi highway connects Ilam with the east–west highway and subsequently, with the provincial capital of Biratnagar.
People from Ilam District
- Sudip Gurung, Musician Aastha Band
- Hangyug Agyat, Poet and Writer.
- Krishna Bhusan Bal, Poet.
- Devika Bandana, Playback Singer.
- Shreedev Bhattarai, Actor and lyricist.
- Gyandil Das, Saint.
- Dinesh D.C., film director, film producer, film actor, TV actor, presenter, president of Cinema Circle Nepal and Chairperson of Film Development Board.
- Darshan Gurung,Former Footballer.
- Jhala Nath Khanal, 35th Prime Minister of Nepal.
- Subaschandra Nemwang, Politician and Chairman of Constituent Assembly of Nepal.
- Phalgunanda, Cleric and scholar.
- Shamsher Rai, Politician.
- Taranath Sharma, Writer.
- Nawayug Shrestha, Footballer.
- Durga Subedi, Cricket Umpire.
Background
During the Panchayat System in Nepal, the municipality used to be known as Ilam Nagar Panchayat.
In 1990, following the end of the Panchayat System, Ilam regained its official name of Ilam Municipality. The total area of the municipality was with division into nine wards, and the total population of the municipality as of 2007 was 34,648.
In 2015, with the amendment of the new Constitution of Nepal, Godak, Soyak, Barbote, part of Maipokhari Sumbek, Puwamajhuwa, part of Sangrumba, part of Siddhithumka and Sakhejung Village Development Committee were incorporated to it.
Etymology
The word ‘Ilam’ comprises two words-‘I’ and ‘Lam’. In Limbu language, the word ‘I’ means ‘winding’ and ‘lam’ denotes the way. The topography of this Ilam aptly depicts several winding paths crisscrossing.Demography
According to 2011 Nepal census, the total population in Ilam was 48,563 and the main inhabitants of Ilam were Limbu, Rai, Yakkha, Lepcha, Newar, Magar, Tamang, Chettri, Bahun, Sunuwar and Gurung. The population of the municipality rose to 50,085 at the 2021 Nepal census. 99.7% of the residents were Nepali citizens and 86.7% were literate in 2021.Education
Ilam has many educational institutions. Ilam's major campus is Mahendra Ratna Multiple Campus, a first QAA certified constituent campus of Tribhuvan University. It has four faculties; Science, Humanities, Education, and Commerce. It provides education in undergraduate and post graduation subjects. From 2069 BS under the affiliation from Tribhuvan University, the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, MRM Campus has started offering bachelor's degrees in Science in Horticulture. In addition to students from Ilam district, students from Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Panchthar, Taplejung, Dhankuta, Kathmandu, Janakpur, Pokhara, Chitwan, Banke, Gorkha, Lamjung, Rupandehi are here to study horticulture.There are other institutes which provide higher education such as Adarhsa HSS, Modern Campus, Ilam Technical college, Heritage National Academy, Ilam Vidya Mandir. Green Valley Academy which provides secondary level education is regarded as one of the best schools in eastern Nepal due to its high-ranking SLC result.
Transportation
Ilam Bazaar is located about east of Kathmandu. Regular buses are available from New Buspark, Koteshwor and Kalanki of Kathmandu which takes to Ilam after a bus ride of about 16 hours. An airport is under construction at Sukilumba Danda.Daily Bus/Bolero is available from Ilam to Taplejung, Phidim, Birtamod, Chandragadhi, Kakarbhitta, Siliguri, Pashupatinagar, Damak, Itahari, Dharan and Biratnagar. A new buspark is being constructed at Sera. Besides these, Bus/Bolero also goes to all the VDCs of Ilam district.
Tea production
Tea production in Ilam started as early as 1863, when the Chinese government offered then Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana tea saplings that were then planted in Ilam. In 1868, the Ilam tea factory was established, and tea plantations covered over 135 acres of land. In 2010, the tea factory was privatized, and is currently not under operation. However, tea production continues in Ilam in other forms. Many local people gets employment from this.In 2010, the total tea production of Nepal is 16.23 million kilograms per annum; a majority of this amount is produced in Ilam.
Economy
New Hotels are being opened in Ilam for tourism. Ilam is known for its six "A"s: are Alu, Alan, Alainchi, Aduwa, Amriso, and Akabare khursani. Alongside these tea, bamboo, flowers and silk are also produced in Ilam. Agricultural commodities helps to increase the Agricultural Gross Development Product. Beside these, the tourism sector also contributes in the economy of Ilam.Ilam bazaar has got haat on Sundays and Thursdays every week.