Damak Municipality

Damak (Nepali: दमक) is one of the oldest municipalities in Jhapa District of Koshi Province in eastern Nepal. It is situated between the Ratuwa River in the east and the Maawa River in the west. It has Sivalik Hills in its north and ends with the intersection of Ratuwa River and Maawa River in the south. Mahendra Highway, the longest highway of Nepal, bisects the municipality. It is the city in Jhapa District with a population of 107,410 in 2021.^{[verification needed]}

At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Damak Municipality had a population of 75,743. Of these, 65.0% spoke Nepali, 19.2% Limbu, 11.3% Maithili, 4.6% Dhimal, 4.1% Rai, 2.9% Newar, 2.5% Tamang, 1.5% Magar, 0.9% Hindi, 0.8% Rajbanshi, 0.7% Urdu, 0.5% Gurung, 0.4% Bengali, 0.4% Bantawa, 0.4% Tharu, 0.3% Bhojpuri, 0.3% Majhi, 0.3% Rajasthani, 0.3% Santali, 0.3% Sunwar, 0.2% Kisan, 0.2% Kumal, 0.1% Bhujel, 0.1% Chamling, 0.1% Sherpa, 0.1% Tajpuriya, 0.1% Thulung, 0.1% Uranw/Urau, 0.1% Yakkha and 0.6% other languages as their first language.

In terms of ethnicity/caste, 23.3% were Hill Brahmin, 20.5% Chhetri, 10.6% Limbu, 6.9% Rai, 4.9% Dhimal, 5.2% Newar, 3.9% Kami, 3.2% Tamang, 3.0% Damai/Dholi, 2.2% Magar, 1.4% Musalman, 1.3% Teli, 1.1% Gharti/Bhujel, 1.0% Kumal, 1.0% Tharu, 0.9% Rajbanshi, 0.8% Gurung, 0.8% Majhi, 0.6% Sarki, 0.5% Jhangad/Dhagar, 0.5% Marwadi, 0.5% Sanyasi/Dasnami, 0.4% Bengali, 0.4% Dev Pranami (Poudar), 0.4% Satar/Santal, 0.4% Sunuwar, 0.4% other Terai, 0.3% Hajjam/Thakur, 0.3% Kalwar, 0.2% Terai Brahmin, 0.2% Dhanuk, 0.2% Dom, 0.2% Halwai, 0.1% Chamar/Harijan/Ram, 0.1% other Dalit, 0.1% Dhobi, 0.1% other Janajati, 0.1% Kayastha, 0.1% Khawas, 0.1% Koiri/Kushwaha, 0.1% Kurmi, 0.1% Lohar, 0.1% Mallaha, 0.1% Musahar, 0.1% Rajput, 0.1% Sherpa, 0.1% Sonar, 0.1% Sudhi, 0.1% Tajpuriya, 0.1% Thakuri, 0.3% Yadav, 0.1% Yakkha and 0.4% others.

In terms of religion, 70.7% were Hindu, 16.6% Kirati, 4.9% Buddhist, 3.5% Prakriti, 2.7% Christian, 1.3% Musalman and 0.3% others.

In terms of literacy, 82.0% could read and write, 1.7% could only read and 16.3% could neither read nor write.

Damak is one of the oldest municipalities in the Eastern Nepal. It is home to many ex-Gurkha who served in the Nepali, Indian and British Military.

Damak was changed to a municipality from a VDC (Village Development Committee) in 1981 AD. The Damak municipality consists of 10 wards, with the previous 19 wards rearranged and some wards are merged. It the large Himalayan tea estate (हिमालय गूडरिक) where the former royal family has invested and a palace was built for the ex King and Queen where palace also build for stay of Royal families. The municipality covers an area of 7,513 hectares and is at an average of 100 meters above sea level. Lakhanpur is to the east, Urlabari, Rajghat and Madhumalla is in the west and Chulachuli (Ilam) and Kohabhara VDC in the north and the south, respectively.

According to the census of 2011, Damak had 7,178 households containing about 36,000 people. The total area is 7,513 hectares out of which 1406.7 hectares is covered by residential area whereas 5,586.30 hectares is used for agriculture. The market area consists of 400.00 hectares, 215 hectares as forest plant area and 265.00 hectares is used in other purposes.