Nepalgunj (), also spelled Nepalganj, is a Sub-Metropolitan City in Banke District, Nepal. It lies on the Terai plains near the southern border with Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh, India. Nepalgunj is 153 kilometers south-west of Ghorahi and 16 km south of Kohalpur. Former Village Development Committee: Udayapur, Bhawaniyapur, Piprahawa, Jaispur, Paraspur, Indrapur, Khaskarkado, Bashudevpur, Manikapur and Puraina were added to territory in order to make it Sub metropolitan city on 2071 Paush 28 and later Puraini was also added in list on 2072 Paush 21. Further, while restructuring of local levels nationwide, ward no. 23 (former Indrapur VDC) was taken out to Janaki Rural Municipality and ward no. 7 of Hirminiya VDC was added to Nepalgunj. Demographics At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City had a population of 141,241. Of these, 33.7% spoke Nepali, 30.7% Awadhi, 27.2% Urdu, 2.1% Hindi, 1.8% Tharu, 1.4% Maithili, 1.0% Newar, 0.6% Magar, 0.3% Doteli and 1.2% other languages as their first language. In terms of ethnicity/caste, 28.2% were Musalman, 10.7% Chhetri, 8.6% Hill Brahmin, 4.0% Thakuri, 3.7% Magar, 3.5% Yadav, 3.2% Tharu, 3.0% Newar, 3.0% Kathabaniyan and 32.1% others. In terms of religion, 70.0% were Hindu, 27.8% Muslim, 1.1% Buddhist, 0.8% Christian, 0.1% Kirati and 0.2% others. Culture Nepalgunj has a diverse culture with people from different faiths living within mixed communities. Hinduism and Buddhism are two major religions in the city, with Hindus comprising the larger percentage of the population. The city also has followers of other religions like Islam, Sikhism and Christianity. People of different ethnicity are known to have traditionally lived together, without any significant conflicts. However, recent conflict occurred in December 2006 between the Pahari people and the Madhesi people, following immediately after the 2006 democracy movement in Nepal. The conflict resulted in the death of at least one person, while dozens of others were injured. Transport Nepalgunj Airport is located 6 km north of the city centre. The airport was officially named Mahendra Airport after the late King Mahendra, but it is commonly referred to as Ranjha Airport. It operated flights to Kathmandu and to airports in less-developed western districts such as Humla, Dolpa, Jumla, Mugu and Rukum. Nepalgunj airport is the gateway for pilgrims headed to Mt Kailash in Tibet via the Simikot-Hilsa route in Humla district, which, following the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, has become the dominant route for Kailash pilgrimage through