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Etymology

There are many cultural meaning about the naming of the district but one interesting folklore is that:

.... during Mughal era in India, most people by fear of Mughal moved to this place. That time this place was good in the production of Mangoes, so when people from North India came here, they said: "Accha Aam" (अच्छा आम) (meaning good mangoes in Hindi) and that "Accha Aam" became "Achham" later.²

History

Madan Singh Thapa was the first king of Achham in the 5th century. Achham was a part of Doti Kingdom during medieval era.³ Nepal annexed Doti in 1790.⁴ It remained part of Doti District until 1961. On 13 April 1961, Achham district carved out from Doti District and declared a separate district⁵

Geography and Climate

Achham covers an area of 1,692 square kilometres (653 sq mi) and located at Latitude: 280°46’ North to 290°23' North and Longitude: 810°32 East to 810°35' East. 90% area of Achham is mid-hill and 10% is high-hill. The maximum elevation of the district is 3,820 metres (12,530 ft) and minimum elevation is 540 metres (1,770 ft) from the sea level. The district is surrounded by Bajura District in the North, Doti District in the West, Dailekh District in the East and Surkhet District in the South.⁶

Rivers

The district has 31 rivers in total, the main being the Karnali, Seti, Budhiganga, Ekdi khola, Kailash Khola, Lungreligad, Pravaligad, Kashagad, Saranigad, Ardoligad, Talrawa and Barlegad.⁷

Demographics

At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Achham District had a population of 257,477, in which female comprises 137,469 (54%) and male comprises 120,008 (46%). Density of the area is 154 people per km2.

As their first language, 66.4% of the population spoke Nepali, 32.5% Achhami, 0.4% Magar, 0.1% Doteli, 0.1% Maithili and 0.3% other languages.⁹

Ethnicity/caste: 55.5% were Chhetri, 16.2% other Dalit, 10.2% Hill Brahmin, 9.5% Kami, 3.1% Damai/Dholi, 2.5% Thakuri, 0.6% Magar, 0.6% Sarki, 0.4% Lohar, 0.3% Badi, 0.2% Bengali, 0.2% Sanyasi/Dasnami, 0.1% Majhi, 0.1% Musalman, 0.1% Tamang, 0.1% Teli, 0.1% other Terai, 0.1% Tharu and 0.2% others.¹⁰

Religion: 99.4% were Hindu, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.1% Christian and 0.1% Muslim.¹¹

Literacy: 55.4% could read and write, 3.9% could only read and 40.6% could neither read nor write.¹²

Administration

The district is administered by District Coordination Committee (Legislative), District Administration Office (Executive) and District Court (Judicial) as follows:

Administrative Divisions

Accham is divided into total of ten local level bodies, of which four are urban and six are rural.

Transportation

Achham is one of the remotest districts of Nepal. It is accessible by automobile from Kathmandu and Nepalgunj via a paved road that runs along the western border of Nepal from Dhangadhi. The unpaved road of Mid-Hill Highway through Dailakh district also traverses to Mangalsen by crossing Karnali at Rakam.¹⁴

Mangalsen, the district headquarters, is an eight-hour walk and a 2.5 hour drive from Sanphebagar – a town in Achham sporting a non-functional domestic airport. A bridge crosses the Budhiganga River in Sanphebagar allowing access during high water, a second bridge over the Kailash River. During 2009/2010, the government of Nepal has constructed a paved road connecting Sanphebagar to Mangalsen. The district is served by two hospitals, the government district hospital in Mangalsen and one recently opened in Bayalpata named Bayalpata Hospital that is a collaboration between the government and the non-profit organization Nyaya Health.¹⁵

Education

71% of men aged five and above are literate in Achham compared to 75% at the national level, only 43% of such women in the district can read and write (against 57% across Nepal).¹⁶

FM radio and newspapers

Achham Besd six FM radio and three newspapers are running now. In this district Ramaroshan Daiy.

See also

• Panchadewal Binayak

External links

• UN map of VDC boundaries, water features and roads in Achham
• "Districts of Nepal". Statoids.

References

1. "National Population and Housing Census 2011(National Report)" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics. Government of Nepal. November 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161221003017/http://cbs.gov.np/image/data/Population/National%20Report/National%20Report.pdf ↩

2. "अछाम जिल्लाको संक्षिप्त परिचय" (in Nepali). Achham DCC. Retrieved 23 February 2020. http://ddcachham.gov.np/ne-brief-introduction/ ↩

3. "Deuki Pratha". 15 January 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2020. https://www.volunteersummernepal.org/tag/deuki-pratha ↩

4. "M. Gaborieau on 7 Bharats recorded in Nepal (1969)". Retrieved 18 February 2020. http://epopee.huma-num.fr/epic_documents_MG_Bharats.htm ↩

5. "अछाम जिल्लाको संक्षिप्त परिचय" (in Nepali). Achham DCC. Retrieved 23 February 2020. http://ddcachham.gov.np/ne-brief-introduction/ ↩

6. "अछाम जिल्लाको संक्षिप्त परिचय" (in Nepali). Achham DCC. Retrieved 23 February 2020. http://ddcachham.gov.np/ne-brief-introduction/ ↩

7. "UNDAF District Profile: Achham". United Nation. Retrieved 23 February 2020. http://un.info.np/System/SignDownloadFile/4195 ↩

8. The Map of Potential Vegetation of Nepal - a forestry/agroecological/biodiversity classification system (PDF), . Forest & Landscape Development and Environment Series 2-2005 and CFC-TIS Document Series No.110., 2005, ISBN 87-7903-210-9, retrieved Nov 22, 2013 87-7903-210-9 ↩

9. NepalMap Language https://nepalmap.org/data/table/?table=LANGUAGE&primary_geo_id=district-01&geo_ids=district-01,province-7,country-NP ↩

10. NepalMap Caste https://nepalmap.org/data/table/?table=CASTE&primary_geo_id=district-01&geo_ids=district-01,province-7,country-NP ↩

11. NepalMap Religion https://nepalmap.org/data/table/?table=RELIGION&primary_geo_id=district-01&geo_ids=district-01,province-7,country-NP ↩

12. NepalMap Literacy https://nepalmap.org/data/table/?table=LITERACY_SEX&primary_geo_id=district-01&geo_ids=district-01,province-7,country-NP ↩

13. "NEPAL: Administrative Division". www.citypopulation.de. http://www.citypopulation.de/en/nepal/admin/ ↩

14. "Accham". Far Western nepal. Archived from the original on 2013-05-21. Retrieved 27 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130521184610/http://farwesternnepal.com/achham/ ↩

15. "Accham District Nepal". Sudur Sansar. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2013-06-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20141107163538/http://sudursansar.com/achham.php ↩

16. "UNDAF District Profile: Achham". United Nation. Retrieved 23 February 2020. http://un.info.np/System/SignDownloadFile/4195 ↩