Itahari most populous local level in Sunsari

ITAHARI, Jan 30:  Itahari and Dharan are the only Sub-Metropolitan Cities of Province 1. Both lie in the Sunsari district.  In terms of population, for the first time in history, Itahari has surpassed Dharan in the census of 2011 when Itahari's total population was 140,517 while Dharan's population was 137,705. 

In recent census results of 2021 also, Itahari has outpaced Dharan. Itahari's total population is found to have more than 25,000. Itahari's population is 198,098 (94,308 male and 103,790 female) whereas Dharan has a total population of 173,096 (82,683 male and 90,413 female). With close to 2 lakh population, Itahari has been the most populous local level among the 12 local levels of Sunsari district. 

''In the previous census, Itahari had just more than three thousand more people than Dharan but this time it is more than 25 thousand,'' commented Raju KC, the chair of Civil Society Itahari. ''It is mainly due to Itahari's welcoming nature and inclusive society. People from every district of Province 1 and from every ethnicity, find their familiar faces in Itahari.'' 

KC, who was born in Itahari, said Itahari's central location based on both East-West and North-South national highways is another reason to attract more people from all across eastern Nepal.