Ramkot, Nepal

Ramkot रामकोट
Village of Nagarjun Municipality
Paddy field in Ramkot below a hill
Ramkot Location in Nepal
Coordinates: 27°43′N 85°15′E
Country	Nepal
Province	Province No. 3
District	Kathmandu
Population  (2011)
• Total	8,759
	50.2% males (4,399) and 49.8% females (4,360)
Time zone	UTC+5:45 (Nepal Time)

Ramkot is a village of the Nagarjun Municipality in Province No. 3 of central Nepal (formerly part of the Village Development Committee). The 2011 Nepal Census recorded that Ramkot has a population of 6,303 people in 1,427 independent households.

Ramkot was named after the Hindu deity, Ram. A local legend recants that Ram spent a few days in Ramkot during exile and left behind a piece of his clothing. Another legend describes how Lord Ram constructed a building to store his weapons, named 'Kot' (house of keeping weapons). Sitapaila, an adjacent village, is named after Sita, spouse of Lord Ram, who was said to have also visited the settlement.

Location and Area

Ramkot is quite remote, but has multiple landmarks such as the popular picnic spot Switzerland Park in Dahachok. Kalu Pande's grave, Bindhyabasini Temple, and Manakamana Temple are also popular places to visit. Kalu Pande's grave is a historical hill station related to King Prithvi Narayan Shah. From there, one can observe the three major cities of Kathmandu Valley.

Dandapauwa

Dandapauwa डाँडापौवा (27°43′N 85°16′E) is a ward of Ramkot, Nepal, bordering Taufical, Fasku, Puldol, JayantiGaun, and Gotamthok. The Manamati and Kolpini rivers flow through Dandapauwa, part of the district of "Kathmandu."

Schools and Colleges

There are several schools in this area: Shishu Nikunja School, Mahamanju Shree School, Gajurmukhee Secondary Boarding School, Daisy Educational Academy, Nabin Jyoti school, Ratna Rajya Madhyamic Bidhyala, and Sitaram Higher Secondary School.

Sitaram and Ratna Rajya is a government-owned high school. A government-owned primary school is Jyothi Primary School.

Demographics

Major demographic groups in Dandapauwa include Newar, Sanyasi, Brahmin, Chhetrie, and Tamang populations. The remaining population consists of Kashmiri, Tibetan, and Madhesi Muslims.

Economy

Most of the population engage in agriculture so local tunnels are often built for farming. A grain factory, noodle factory, bitumen factory, and a pharmacy operate in the region. However, the tobacco factory was closed in 2013 due to extreme pollution emissions.

Small-scale companies can also be found. The finances are Kotasya Bhairab and Shyameshwor, named after local temples. Rupesh Computers Inc., which today is known only as Rupesh Inc. is also located there.

Temples

There are many notable temples in this area, including the Mahankal, Shyameshwor, Mahadev mandir of Gothamthok, Kaudu Bhagwati, Panchakanya mandir in purigaun, Ichangu Narayan, Kallabari, Chundevi, Bhimsen Mandir Indradaha, and Manakamana the at top of Dahachowk and Radha - Krishna Mandir temples. Shyameshwor is notable for Shivaratri and Radha Krishna Mandir is famous for Shree Krishna Janma Ashtami. As the nation of Nepal is primarily Buddhist, many of the notable temples in Ramkot are Mahayana Buddhist as well. Jothishwor Mahadev Mandir is in the heart of Toufic.

Politics

Ramkot falls within the Kathmandu 9 parliamentary constituency. Since the 2017 national elections, the constituency has been represented by Krishna Gopal Shrestha of the Nepal Communist Party in the House of Representatives. Before the 2017 elections, the constituency was represented by Dhyan Govinda Ranjit of the Nepali Congress party, who was elected as a member of the Nepalese Constituent Assembly in the 2013 Nepalese Constituent Assembly election.