Ratnanagar

Ratnanagar is a municipality in the Chitwan District of Bagmati Province, Nepal, lying on the bank of the East Rapti River beside Chitwan National Park, for which it serves as a gateway. It was created in 1997 by merging the former village development committees of Old-Ratnanagar and Panchakanya, and in 2014 the former committees of Bachhayauli and Pithuwa were added to it. Agriculture is the main livelihood, with rice, maize, mustard and vegetables the chief crops, alongside poultry farming and animal husbandry, while tourism centred on nearby Sauraha adds hotels, resorts and an elephant breeding station. The municipality is crossed by about three kilometres of the Mahendra Highway, one of the main highways of Nepal, has three community radio stations, and promotes electric rickshaws for cleaner transport. The 2011 census counted 70,226 residents.