Melamchi

Melamchi is a municipality in Sindhupalchok District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 3936 and had 710 houses in the village.Government of Nepal has initiated a drinking water project called Melamchi water supply project to Kathmandu Valley.An Over View of Melamchi Valley The Melamchi Valley is typically narrow, steep Himalayan River-Valley. The lower valley slopes are very steep, rocky and "V" shaped in the High Mountain whereas in the Middle the valley slopes are dissected by rolling alluvial tars at the bottom. The middle mountain slopes, have gentler aspect and are the sites of settlements. The upper mountain slopes are very steep, rocky and with pointed ridgeline. On the contrary, upper hill slopes of middle part are often rounded and smooth and are exploited for mountain agriculture and settlement. Elevation differences between the valley floor and surrounding ridges exceed over 1,000 m in the upper part.PeopleThe total population of the Melamchi Valley is 68,800 and the household size is 5.2 in average. Around 50.7 percent of the population is male and 49.3 percent of the population is female. About 40.5 percent of the population is under 14 years of age and 52 percent are under 60 years of age. Around 36 percent of the populations are Brahmin, Chhetri and Newar. Tamangs represent 38 percent and 6 percent are Kamis, Damais and Sarkis (KDS) and rest are others. Around 48.7 percent of the total population is economically active.CultureHindu culture dominates the settlements of the valley areas while the Buddhist culture is prevalent in the high mountain settlements. Mid-hill settlements of the valley is the meeting ground of the two cultures. There are more than 11 Hindu temples and shrines, and about 14 monasteries in the Melamchi watershed.