Budhabare, more specifically Hadiya Budhabare, is a village and former Village Development Committee that is now part of Buddhashanti Rural Municipality in Jhapa district of Province No. 1 in south-eastern Nepal. The latest official data, 2011 Nepal Census, puts the total population of the VDC at 22,936. Owing to this average population size, the VDC has been divided into nine wards.
As the village is crossed by Hadiya Khola, it is sometimes also referred to as Hadiya Budhabare. The village of Budhabare is best known for two things: the production of betelnut and the market that is held every Wednesday. The market of Budhabare grew in importance tremendously after the highway to Ilam was constructed, as Budhabare now lies along the Mechi Highway, which connects all the districts of Mechi zone.
Etymology
The origin of the name budhabare dates back to the early 1940s. Local legend has it that, at that time, an elite man by the name of Romhorse Karki began to organize a weekly market day, or hatiya, in the village. This followed a similar trend that was already in practice on Saturday in Sanischare, on Sunday in Aaitabare, on Friday and Monday in Dhulabari, and on Thursday in Phikkal. Out of fears that a concurrent market day would be detrimental and challenging to business, they decided go with either Tuesday or Wednesday. As Tuesday is generally considered a kharobar, or brute day, in Nepali culture, Wednesday became the pick. Over time, the village came to be known after this day of the market as Budhabare, since Budhabar is the Nepali term for Wednesday. This market, which started off in the early 1940s, still continues to this day and has become a major attraction of the village.
Geography
Budhabare is located in Buddhashanti Rural Municipality, at a distance of 17 km north from district headquarters Bhadrapur and 8 km north of Charali along the Mechi Highway. Geographically, Budhabare covers a total area of 31.73 square kilometres. Pahari Chowk (roughly the center of Budhabare) lies at a latitude of 26.723838°N and longitude of 88.050179°E. The elevation of Budhabare ranges from 149 m to 329 m above the mean sea level. The dominant tree species found in the area include Shorea robusta (locally known as sal), Acacia catechu (), Dalbergia sissoo (), and Neolamarckia cadamba ().
Climate
Since the village lies in the flanks of Terai just below the hills, the climate of Budhabare is temperately warm. Under the Köppen–Geiger classification, Budhabare has a humid subtropical climate (Cwa) with wet and hot summers and mild and dry winters. With reference to statistics furnished by climate-data.org, the average temperature of Budhabare is 24.2 °C. About 2500 mm of precipitation falls annually. The driest month is December with little to no rainfall. Meanwhile, in July, the precipitation reaches its peak with an average of 719 mm.
Geology
Topographically, Budhabare area lies in the upper Terai region of the Indo-Gangetic plains, almost on the foot of the Siwalik hills. It is generally flat in the south, while the northern part is rolling. The area is dissected by two major streams: Biring Khola and Hadiya Khola. Biring Khola runs from north to south along the western border, serving as a natural demarcation between Budhabare and Khudnabari. Hadiya Khola also runs from north to south, but close to the eastern border. The area close to the two streams is mainly composed of gravel, boulder, and sand. However, the rest and much of Budhabare is primarily composed of silty loamy soil, which is ideal for agriculture.
Demographics
As per the National Population and Housing Census 2011, the total population of the village stands at 22,936, with a male population of 10,938 and a female population of 11,998. In terms of percentage, males constitute some 47.69% and females constitute about 52.31% of the total population. Likewise, the sex ratio is 91.17, which means there are about 91 males for every 100 females in the VDC. The total number of households in the village is 5,270, with an average household size of 4.35. Moreover, the population density of the VDC comes to be around 723 persons per square kilometer, which is about fourfold higher than the national population density.
Age structure
The active population of the VDC is 14,415, which is about 63.29% of the total population. The table immediately below enumerates the population composition of the village on the basis of child dependent, economically active, and old dependent age-group respectively: