National College

Kathmandu University
Department of Development Studies

A Brief Introduction to Waling Municipality

Reported by:
Bikram Raj Kunwar
2241
3 Year II Semester
rd

Submitted To:
Deepak Shrestha
Urban Planning
Bachelor in Development Studies
Batch 2020
December 2023
 Table of contents

1) Background of Waling
2) Desk Study
a) Urbanization
b) Trends of urbanization
c) Growth rate
3) Population, area of municipality and its growth rate in Waling
4) Maps of Waling
5) Major Industries, markets, economic, green infrastructure
6) Number of school, colleges, educations institutions, open spaces, government
institutions
7) Linkage with surrounding cities and transportation
8) Urbanization in Kohalpur
a) Push and Pull factors for the population in Waling
b) Determinants of Urbanization
c) Trends of Urbanization
9) Is the trend of urbanisation rising it falling?
10) Is the city liveable or not?
11) References
1 Historical Background:

Established on 2053/10/11 BS, Waling Municipality came into existence by merging several
areas of village development committees Dhanubans, Pekhu Baghkor and Waling. In 2073 BS, it
expanded further to include additional regions as part of the Federal Government System
restructuring.

Waling Municipality is one of five municipalities in Syangja district, just a two-hour drive south
of Pokhara along the Siddhartha Highway. Nestled in the beautiful Andhi Khola Valley, it's
surrounded by green hills and known for its fertile land, particularly famed for rice cultivation.
The name "Waling" itself comes from a folk song called 'Wali,' celebrating the tradition of rice
plantation in the region.

Waling Municipality is surrounded by Biruwa Rural Municipality and Chapakot Municipality to

the east, while the western border extends to Parbat District and Galyang Municipality. Bheerkot
Municipality lies to the north, and to the south, it shares borders with Galyang and Chapakot
Municipalities. The municipality is strategically positioned between latitudes 28° 3'2.412'' N to
27° 55' 26.58'' N and longitudes 83° 41'36.852'' E to 83° 50' 18.456'' E. This geographical
location places Waling amidst the scenic landscapes of the Andhi Khola Valley, contributing to
its agricultural richness and natural beauty

2 Desk Study : Urbanization and its trends of urbanization

Urbanization: It refers to the migration of people from rural to urban regions, which causes
cities and towns to grow. In Waling’s case, this is demonstrated by the town's rapid population
growth with the addition of regions, the development of built-up areas and the establishment of
new industries and enterprises.

Growth Rate : This is the rate at which an area is becoming more urbanized; it’s commonly
expressed as the percentage change in the urban population over a certain period of time. Based
on the size of its population has decreased which has recently occurred. That’s why Waling has
low growth rate.

Urban infrastructure: The development of adequate urban infrastructure is crucial for

accommodating Waling’s population and additional regions. To ensure the livable urban
environment and sustainability. This includes the physical facilities and services necessary for
functioning urban areas such as roads and transportation networks, technology development,
drinking water supply and sanitation systems, open spaces, greenery, parks and effective
government facilities to citizens.
3 Population statistics, area of municipality & growth rate

The chart above reveals the population distribution of Waling Municipality according to
individual wards during the 2011 census. At that time, the total population of the municipality
stood at 51,243. This data provides a valuable snapshot of how the residents were spread across
the different wards, offering insights into the demographic makeup of Waling a decade ago.
The chart above displays the 2021 census data for Waling Municipality, presenting the
population figures categorized by individual wards. The total population recorded during this
census is 50,488, providing a snapshot of the distribution of residents across different wards in
the municipality. This data serves as a valuable resource for understanding the demographic
composition of Waling in the year 2021.

Area of Municipality

Waling Municipality spans an area of 128.40 square kilometers.

Population growth rate

Using the data of 2011 and 2021 census,

To calculate the population growth rate,

PGR = (50,488 – 51,243/51243) *100

PGR = -1.47%
So, the population growth rate between the 2011 and 2021 census is approximately -1.47%. The
negative sign indicates a decrease in population over the specified period.
4 Map of Waling Municipality
5. Major Industries, markets, economic, green infrastructure

Fig. Economic activity in Waling

Waling's economy is primarily centered around trade, foreign remittance, and agricultural
produce. The town thrives on commerce and the exchange of goods and services, with foreign
remittances playing a significant role in sustaining economic activities. Most lands are cultivable
and agriculture is the main occupation of most of the people.Therfore, agriculture is a key pillar
of Waling's economy, with the fertile land contributing to the production of various crops,
thereby supporting the livelihoods of local residents and contributing to the municipality
economic vitality.

The first pie chart in the figure represents the economic establishment in the municipality of
Waling, with 60.82% of the establishments being based on Wholesale and retail trade (highest)
while only 0.14% of the establishments were based on Mining, electricity, gas, water supply and
construction(lowest). The second graph in the figure represents the economic sector and the level
of engagement within them. Similar to the establishment data, the wholesale and retail trade
sector has the highest percentage of engagement (38.65%) and the mining, electricity, gas, water
supply and construction has the lowest percentage of engagement(0.17%).

As per the current mayor of the municipality,waling has already implementing a zero-waste
policy and have made a profit of about Rs7 million this year alone just by processing waste. So
this align with the concept of green infrastructure.

6. Number of school, colleges, educations institutions, open spaces, government institutions

As per government record of 2015/16

Number of Primary Schools: 17

Number of Lower Secondary Schools: 3
Number of Secondary Schools: 12
Number of Technical Schools Under CTEVT: 3
Number of Higher Secondary Schools: 12
Number of College: 4

Waling Municipality has its own Municipality Office along with 14 ward offices. The office of
Municipal Executive lies in Aandhikhola Valley.

7. Linkage with surrounding cities and transportation

Waling is connected to the most beautiful city of Nepal, Pokhara and the birth place of Lord
Gautam Buddha, Lumbini via Siddhartha Highway. The Waling is 65 Km far from the Capital of
Gandaki Province, Pokhara and 27 Km far from District Headquarter, Syangja.

8. Urbanization in Waling

A) Push and Pull factors for population growth in Waling

In terms of the pull factors, Waling is a hub for economic trade and also a center for education in
the region. There are few wards within Waling which are very rural and far from the municipality
itself are the ones who migrate for better economic opportunities and education to Waling which
is increasing gradually. Whereas, push factors such as a lack of proper road connecting different
Wards to the Waling, lack of higher education institutions available in the municipality, lack of
employment and hospitals and medical are not well equipped for the treatment of bigger
diseases. Due to these reasons, people of Waling are tempted to move out of Waling and migrate
to cities such as pokhara, butwal for the higher education, employment, health. This is also being
supported by the decline of population in recent census of 2021.

B) Determinants of Urbanization and Trends of Urbanization

In terms of Urbanziation, the main determinant of urbanization in Waling is that government of

Nepal proposed Waling as one of the “SMART” Cities of Nepal. As of now, Waling is in the
track of this proposed smart cities. Despite the slight population decline in the Waling, there has
been great progress in the Waling in terms of infrastructure, health, education, waste
management, tourism spots and soon. Talking about the new infrastructure development in the
Waling, 15-bed hospitals are under construction, five lifting drinking water has established, to
reach every tole and village it has opened 104 km new track. In addition, due to heavy traffic in
Siddhartha highway, construction of Corridor is being priority. In waste management, Waling
has done significant work and has received praised from everyone. Municpality has been able to
aware its citizens about the segregation of waste from home. And has already implemented zero
waste policy and earn good money from this activity by the municipality. In technological
advancement, Waling has made applications to make it easy for its citizens. Making documents
such as birth certificate, migration, cizienships, payments of utilities from mobile leading its
citizens to smart as the Waling is considered one of the smart city of Nepal.

9. Conclusion

The conclusion of the paper aims to answer the following questions.

1) Is the trend of urbanization rising of falling?
2) Is the city liveable of not?

In terms of urbanization trends, we can come to the conclusion using the interpretation of various
economic and infrastructural criteria that the urbanization in Waling can be considered as a rising
trend despite slight decline in population because it’s the “SMART” city of Nepal. And many
development activities have already and will be going to take place in coming days. It will be
significant once these sectors roads, health, education, agriculture, tourism gets more and more
progress.
Through this paper, we can conclude that Waling has a capacity and ability to be a good city to
live in especially due to the “SMART” city of Nepal as mentioned already. In coming days more
and more facilities are going to be added to the Waling that will draw the people towards it to
live for. Existing infrastructure of road, health, education, drinking water supply is still not bad
but can expect more from the Waling to make it more liveable for its citizens.
References

https://walingmun.gov.np/node/10?language=en

https://www.collegenp.com/institute/waling-municipality/

https://www.nepalarchives.com/content/waling-municipality-syangja-profile/

https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/population?province=4&district=44&municipality=3

https://www.recordnepal.com/the-smart-city-of-waling