Dang District Research Articles

Factors Affecting the Banking Habit of Urban People

Good banking habits are crucial for managing household finances and achieving financial stability. This study aims to examine the major factors that affect the banking habit of urban people. The survey was carried out by distributing structured questionnaires to people of various ages, genders, occupations, and qualifications in Ghorahi Municipality, Dang District- a mid-western part of Nepal. The study followed the descriptive cum casual research design and concluded that convenience, availability, and security have positive effects on banking habits. But awareness level and motivation factors do not have any linkage with the banking habit of urban people. It may be the reason for the similar nature of products and services offered by banks, the increased financial literacy rate, and the financial knowledge of urban people. Thus, the results of this study are helpful for banks to formulate and adopt relevant strategies to increase banking habits.

Economics of production and marketing of fish in Dang district of Nepal

A study was carried out to analyze the economics of fish production and marketing in Dang district of Nepal. Structured survey was done with 75 respondents (45 producers, 5 wholesalers, 10 retailers, and 15 consumers) in three different sites of Dang district (viz: Lamahi Municipality, Rapti Rural Municipality and Gadhawa Rural Municipality). The initial investment, cost of production and returns, production function, price spread,and marketing margin, and ranking of production and marketing problems of fish were done by index ranking techniques. Financial analysis showed that the total initial investment per hectare of fishpond was found to be NRs. 9, 68,394 with the annual production cost of NRs. 6, 93,483. The total return was found to be NRs. 932,088 and net profit realized per hectare was NRs. 238,604. Out of total cost, about 73.70% was variable cost and the remaining 26.30% was fixed cost. Of the total variable cost, the cost of feed (58.63%) was significantly higher followed by the cost of fingerlings (12.94%), labor (11.37%), manure and fertilizer cost (8.33%) fuel/ energy (4.46%) and maintenance cost (4.27%) respectively. The benefit cost ratio (B/C ratio) was found to be 1.82 which implies that the fish enterprise was found to be profitable in the study area. The research also revealed that the producer’s share was 78.17% with price spread of 71.57 and marketing efficiency of 90.81%. The value sum of the estimated parameters associated with all the inputs is 0.52 which indicates the decreasing return to scale. Lack of technological know-how and unavailability of inputs on time are the major production problems. Inefficient price information system and competition with the Indian fish are the major marketing problems. Thus, for sustainable production and marketing of fish government should focus primarily on technological dissemination and better pricing policy.

Experiences of Workplace Violence among Nursing Personnel in Rapti Sub-regional Hospital, Dang District, Western Nepal

Background: Workplace violence against (WPV) health care workers is a common and widespread phenomenon. This problem is already high and still continuously increasing. The objective of the study was to explore the experience of workplace violence among nursing personnel.
 Methods: A purposive sampling technique was used to select 20 nursing personnel. The qualitative data was generated by using guidelines for (i) Focus group Discussion (FGD), (ii) in- depth interview and (iii) key informant interview. Three FGD were conducted: two groups of staff nurses and one group of ANM, tape recording as well as field note was maintained. In-depth interviews were conducted with 4 nursing personnel who had experienced of workplace violence (WPV), the facial expressions, gesture, tone of voice and emotion experienced by respondents were observed during data collection. Two key informant interviews were carried out among organizational chiefs (medical superintendent) to verify the findings.
 Results: All participants had experienced some types of abuse in their lifetime and majority of them had experienced verbal abuse in their workplace, where the perpetrators were team i.e. particularly by doctors. The nature of verbal abuse was insult, threatening and scolding in front of patients and visitors and majority of them reported the common place of violence was maternity ward particularly during night duty. The common cause behind the WPV was due to absence of policy to punish the perpetrators. Among the abused personnel, majority of them reported psychosomatic problems: anorexia, insomnia and depression. The studies revealed that majority of respondents were seeking immediate support from colleagues. In term of preventive measures, majority of respondents reported to give training on self-protection, staffs counseling for abused and developing violence prevention policy in the workplace.
 Conclusion: Based on the identified qualitative information, the four themes were developed: low morale, low responsiveness, lack of unity and hazardous work environment which were responsible for increment of WPV. Therefore there identified themes need to be taken in consideration for the violence prevention policy should be developed in the concerned areas to control and prevent the WPV.

Estimation of groundwater potential zones using remote sensing and geographical information system technique- Waghai Taluka, Dang district, Gujarat, Western India

Groundwater is an important natural resource and has a significant role in the economy of any nation. The Dang district situated in the south-eastern part of the Gujarat state, Western India faces potable water problems in almost every summer season though the region receives heavy rainfall during monsoon months. The region has steep slopes causing heavy runoff during monsoon. The people of the district mainly rely on agriculture and the major source of the surface water is the perennial flows in Ambika, Purna and Khapri rivers that criss-crosses the district. In this study, we have employed an integrated approach to find out the groundwater potential regions in the Waghai Taluka based on geology, geomorphology, tectonic set-up, present wells’ static ground water level and slope length of the region. The field observations were also considered for the verification of our final inputs. The thematic maps are prepared with the use of remote sensing and GIS tools. The groundwater potential zones are classified into potential and non-potential zones based on integrated results and verified with existing well sites in study region. It was found that about 11% of the area comes under non-potential zones has least prospect of finding groundwater, while 89% of the region has more probability of finding groundwater under the potential zones.

Nesting habitat suitability and breeding of Asian woollyneck (Ciconia episcopus) in Nepal

Asian woollyneck (Ciconia episcopus) is a large wading bird species whose conservation status has been recently down-listed, despite a lack of concrete information on its nesting ecology and breeding success. In this study, we report its breeding success and nest habitat suitability in Nepal from 39 nesting sites (2016–2020). Simal (Bombax ceiba) (n = 21), followed by sal tree(Shorea robusta) (n = 6), and rani-salla (Pinus roxburghii) (n = 4) were the most common tree with mean height of the nesting tree, nest height, and tree diameter being 30 ± 5.8 m (± SD), 25.20 ± 5.75 m, and 1.03 ± 0.35 m, respectively. Nesting and fledging success were recorded from 31 nesting attempts at 19 of these sites, with an estimated nesting success probability of 0.81 ± 0.07 and a mean fledging success of 1.94 ± 0.25 chicks per nest. MaxEnt modelling identified a total potential suitable nesting habitat area of 9.64% (14,228 km2) of the area in Nepal, with this located within 72 districts, mostly in the west. The modelling parameters suggest that slope, land use, and precipitation during the driest months were important determinants of nesting habitat suitability. We recommend that priority be given to conserving taller trees (especially simal) close to settlements and croplands of Nepal. Also, that future surveys should consider examining the districts highlighted by our model as being the most likely candidates for containing woollyneck nesting habitat, especially those (such as Dang District) where woollyneck nests have not been previously reported.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43388-022-00104-2.

Retraction: Serological and Entomological Study of Dengue in Dang and Chitwan Districts of Nepal.

Retraction: Serological and Entomological Study of Dengue in Dang and Chitwan Districts of Nepal.

Ethnomedicinal Plants of Ghorahi Sub Metropolitan City and their Adjoining Area, Dang, District

Ghorahi is situated in the Lumbini Province Mid-Western part of Nepal. The present study was under taken Ghorahi sub-metropolitan city of Dang district indigenous knowledge on plant utilization as natural remedy and documentation of ethnomedical plant. The traditional healers, elder men and teachers were consulted as key information for the documentation of indigenous knowledge on the medicinal plants. The study was accompanied by field visits during this season. The information was taken based on local people’s knowledge. The present study has documented 34 species belongs to 23 families and 31 genera of highly utilized medicinal plants from that area used by local communities. The documentation is based on primary data collected in the field applying PRA, RRA techniques and informal interview followed by collection of plant specimen. These plants were used for the treatment of various ailments. It has been evident from the study most of the tribal group depends upon forest for firewood, fodder, holy applicants (making plates, tapari etc.). It is observed that forest is under heavy interference and its ecosystem have been change rapidly due to forest fire, lopping, grazing, fuel-wood collection etc. Therefore, indicating urgent need for conservation of these resources and indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants.

Resource Use Efficiency (RUE) in Lentil Production in Terai and Inner Terai Regions of Nepal

A study was carried out to estimate and analyze the profitability and resource use efficiency of lentil grain and seed production in Nepal's terai and inner terai regions. Using a pre-tested questionnaire, primary data and information were collected from 300 lentil grain producing farmers, categorized by local seed users, improved seed users, and 100 seed producing farmers in Kailali, Dang, and Siraha districts. The study revealed that the B:C ratio in lentil seed production was higher (1.59) than in lentil grain production (1.41). The benefit in both grain and seed production realized by farmers was mainly due to increased prices rather than production. Return to scale was found to be increasing (1.016) in lentil grain production using local seed, but it was decreasing at a rate in lentil grain production using improved seed (0.854) and in lentil seed production (0.822). Analysis on resource use efficiency revealed that labor input is excessively overused, reflecting the Marginal Value Product of less than unity in lentil production. To get the maximum profit from lentil grain production using improved seed, input use in land preparation, threshing, and post-harvest should be increased while decreasing the amount of other inputs.

Distribution records of Dormer’s Bat Scotozous dormeri (Dobson, 1875) (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Nepal

Dormer’s Bat is endemic to southern Asia and distributed in tropical, semi-arid, or arid climatic zones in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal (Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu 2019). It is insectivorous in nature and plays an important role in the natural control of insects. Roost search and mist netting were conducted during early evening to 2200 h in three sites and the species was identified by field-based morphology including medium body size, pale gray brown color on the dorsal side, buffy white ventral surface, and face is necked and uniform mid-brown in color. A total of five individuals of Scotozous dormeri were recorded from east to west Nepal and the forearm ranged 34.4–36.00 mm in length. An individual was observed in a cavity in a pillar in a wooden house at Ramjhoda, Sunsari District. Two individuals each were trapped at the Morange River, Morang District in the east and Hattikhauwa, Dang District in the west. Three localities of the species’ record lie in the dry and arid sub-tropical areas. This study records the second to fourth locality records of the species distribution to Nepal.

Exploring Potential of a Tribal Region: The Case of the Dang District, Gujarat, India

In the 21st century, tourism is becoming one of the fastest-growing economic sectors. Tourism is a “large and complex human activity that requires a wide range of services, infrastructure and inputs”. Over the past half- century, tourism has opened up many opportunities around the world. Tourism is an economic engine that brings many sources of income to the country, but it also has many potential challenges, complications and potential negative impacts on the environment, culture and community. Key Words: Eco-Tourism, NTFP, Tribes, Craft, Rural-Tourism

Fertility Assessment in Different Depth of Soil in Rice -Wheat Cropping System of Western Terai of Nepal

Abstract: Soil fertility assessment plays a vital role in improving fertilizer efficiency by indicating the nutrients available in the soil. A research was conducted in 4 districts (Banke, Dang, Kapilvastu, and Rupandehi) at the western Terai of Nepal to study the fertility status at different soil depths (0-20, 20-40, and 40-60cm) in the paddy harvested fields. 10 samples each were collected from each district to study the nutrients available in different soil depths so that the necessary amendments could be made for the sustainable and scientific production of rice wheat. Four districts were taken as blocks and 3 different depths as the main plot. Composite soil samples were collected in each study site at 0-20,20-40 and 40-60cm soil depth. Soil physical and chemical properties like soil texture, pH, total nitrogen, available potassium, and available phosphorus were tested in the Soil laboratory at HICAST. GenSTAT, MS-Excel, and SPSS were used for data analysis. All the soil fertility parameters analyzed were significantly affected (P<0.05) by the variation in soil depth. The soil organic matter and nitrogen level were significantly higher in Kapilvastu district (1.2767% & 0.075%) and in the upper surface of the soil (1.45% & 0.86%) while lowest soil organic matter and nitrogen levels were recorded from Rupandehi district (0.669%) and in Dang district (0.052%) respectively. In contrast, the available Phosphorus was highest in Banke district (80.02 kg/ha) and in the top depth of 0-20cm (55.32kg/ha), lowest in Kapilbastu district (35.97 kg/ha) and in the depth of 40-60cm (37.26kg/ha). The available K content followed the order: Kapilbastu (177.0kg/ha) > Dang (120.8kg/ha) > Banke &Rupendehi (81.4kg/ha) and 0-20cm depth (168.3kg/ha) > 20-40cm depth (157.7 kg/ha) >40-60cm depth (151.7kg/ha). There was no significant difference in available K levels in different depths of soil. The lowest pH was recorded in Kapilbastu district at the depth of 20-40cm (5.5). The pH of 0-20cm depth (7.147), 20-40cm depth (7.52) and 40-60 cm depth (7.449) were not significantly different as determined by DMRT. The results obtained from the study indicated that the land under rice-wheat cropping system in the western terai of Nepal has poor soil health, therefore future research strategy should be built based on the soil fertility status of the research to judge the nutrient requirement and application of nutrients for the sustainable management of crop and soil health.

Diversity of Odonata (Insecta) in protected areas of Gujarat, India

The species of Odonata are highly predacious on invertebrates, especially the immature stages, which are generalist predators. The Odonate diversity of protected areas of Gujarat state, India was studied from August, 2014 to July, 2017. Fifteen protected areas of Gujarat were surveyed. A total of 60 species (41 species of Anisoptera and 19 species of Zygoptera) belonging to 40 genera under 8 families and two suborders were recorded. Maximum species (54) were recorded from Purna Wildlife Sanctuary of Dang district followed by Vansda National Park (44 species) of Navsari district. Amongst the protected wetlands, maximum species (47) were recorded from Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary.

Quantitative Evaluation of Ethnobotanicals from Dang District, South Gujarat

In the present communication we are trying to report the socio-cultural valuation of the available Phyto-resources from the Dang district, South Gujarat. Quantitative techniques have been used in ethnobotany to compare the uses and the cultural importance of different plant taxa. Researchers have developed several indices to estimate the significance of plant species for humans. We used interview and observational data concerning plants traditionally used by tribal people of south Gujarat. Individual data ‘event’ is collected and segregated in pre-defined use categories. It was then processed separately. Different indices such as User report (UR), Frequency of citation (FC), Number of uses (NU), Cultural importance index (CI), Relative frequency of citation (RFC), and Relative importance index (RI) were calculated. We found a low correlation between the practical and the cultural values of species: some species rarely used were frequently mentioned in interviews, whereas some species frequently used were rarely mentioned in interviews. Indices of cultural and practical value measure different dimensions of the importance of plant species to society. From the present study we found that Moringa oleifera is the most used plant species in the study area.

An economics of crop insurance for notified crops in tribal areas of Gujarat (India)

The study was conducted in Navsari and Dang district as it is one of the important paddy and ragi growing areas of the Gujarat state. This study is based on an analysis of primary and secondary data for the Kharif and Rabi, 2015 season. A simple random sampling technique was adopted in the selection of farmers based on the crop cutting experiment for estimating yield during the proposed season. The study was conducted in two tehsils of Navsari district namely Vansda and Chikhli and three tehsils of Dang district namely Waghai, Ahwa and Subir. To understand the opinion of the farmers from Navsari and Dang district the sample design is a form based on the number of crop cutting experiments and notified crops from different tehsil of the sample district. The crop cutting experiments were carried out by soil testing laboratory, Vansda, Gujarat. The structured questionnaire will be used for primary data collection. The data was interpreted by working out averages, standard deviation, co-efficient of variation, percentage and ratios and finally, to elicit the opinion of insured and non – insured farmers’ percentage method was employed.

Rainfall-runoff modelling using soil conservation service-curve number technique for the Khapri watershed in the Dang District of Gujarat, India

Rainfall-runoff modelling using soil conservation service-curve number technique for the Khapri watershed in the Dang District of Gujarat, India

Impact of Change in Structure of Government on Health Service Delivery: A Case Study of Dang District of Nepal

INTRODUCTION: Nepal has changed its structure of governance from a centralized into decentralized system to improve its health service delivery to people. This paper aims to highlight the impact of this changed structure in health service delivery during this transition phase. Thus a cross sectional study was performed to study the impact, where semi-structured interviews in Nepali with officials of different health institutions under different tiers of government was conducted.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: An input-process-output framework was applied to study the components of health service delivery. The data obtained was transcribed into English language and content analysis was executed under several headings.
 RESULTS: After analyzing the findings, mixed impact was observed with various challenges and opportunities in the way ahead for improving the health service delivery. A positive impact on the physical infrastructure was seen along with opportunities as well as challenges in human resource procurement. Management of budget as well as logistics have become difficult. Plan as suitable as possible are being made meanwhile, organizing the health system is becoming haphazard. Staff management along with training them and coordination among agencies have become more tedious. However a good outcome was present in aspects of service utilization and community participation.
 CONCLUSIONS: Nepal as a developing country has been making an effort in the way forward on improving its health service delivery and further research on this field is necessary. Also robust framework and policies to drive the country in delivering an improved health service is required.

A dual purpose, high yielding little millet (Panicum sumatrense) variety 'GV-4' (Ambika) for cultivation in Gujarat

The little millet variety ‘GV-4’ (Ambika) is a pure line selection from the local germplasm collected from the Dang District. A little millet variety ‘GV-4’ was tested as a genotype name ‘WV-126’. ‘WV 126’ was tested under the various state trials found to be superior for grain yield (2933 kg/ha) by 21.20, 13.78, 44.39 and 31.44 per cent over the existing checks i.e. GV-2 (LC), GNV-3 (LC), CO-2 (NC) and OLM-203 (NC), respectively over thirteen trials and seven years (2014-15 to 2020-21) of study. The genotype matures in 120-125 days includes under medium duration variety. The genotype WV-126 has 9-10 branches per panicle and 35.5 cm average panicle length. It has special attributes of synchronized maturity and non-lodging growth habit. WV-126 is rich in calcium (17.1 mg/100g), protein (12.91 g/100g), fat (3.3 %), crude fiber (7.5 %), carbohydrates (70.40 g/100g) and minerals (2.7 g/100g). It is resistant to blast (leaf, neck and panicle) and moderately resistant to grain smut and sheath blight when compared to local check GV-2 and GV-3 and national check CO-2, OLM-203 and JK-8. A little millet variety ‘GV-4’ (Gujarat Vari-4) was released as a new variety for cultivation during kharif under rainfed conditions of Gujarat state. Key words: Little millet, high yielding variety, yield attributing characters, nutritional quality etc.

Biomass and Carbon Stock in the Sal (Shorea robusta) Forest of Dang District Nepal

The study was conducted to find the net carbon stock in the Sal (Shorea robusta) forest in Bagdaila Chisapani community forest of Dang district, Nepal. The inventory was done by a stratified sampling technique with 0.5% sampling intensity taking into account the woody plants with ≥ 5cm DBH. A total of 49 sample plots of radius 8.94m and 5.64 were established to measure tree biomass and sapling biomass respectively in the forest. The mean above-ground carbon (AGC) was 160.4 t ha-1 and the mean below-ground carbon (BGC) was 24.1t ha-1. The mean total carbon stock in the study area was estimated to be 99.02 t ha-1; of which maximum carbon stock of 143.51 t ha-1 was found in block number 5. Sal was the major tree species in the CF. The biomass and carbon content in this forest is found quite low as compared to other studies in the Sal forest and other tropical forests which were due to the presence of tree stands of less diameter and height. This study would be helpful in the long-term management of forests, planning, and research purposes. The data from this study could also be taken as a reference document for the participation of community forests in carbon accounting under the REDD+ scheme in Nepal.

Production and Profitability of Hybrid Rice Is Influenced by Different Nutrient Management Practices

The government of Nepal has recommended blanket fertilizer application for rice cultivation, which results in lower nutrient use efficiency (NUE) particularly under rainfed conditions. With the aim of finding an appropriate nutrient management practices concerning rice production and profitability, a field experiment was conducted during rainy season of 2017 and 2018 at Kavrepalanchowk and Dang district of Nepal. Altogether, five treatments comprising various nutrient management practices viz. Nutrient Expert Model (NE), use of Leaf Color Chart (LCC), Government Recommended Fertilizer Dose (GON), Farm Yard Manure (FYM), and Farmers’ Field Practice (FFP), were laid out in RCBD with four replications in farmers’ fields. The analysis of variance showed significant difference between treatments for test weight and grain yield in Kavrepalanchowk whereas all traits except number of effective tillers were significant in Dang. The significantly higher grain yield and harvest index were obtained in NE, followed by LCC; and the overall straw yield was highest in LCC, followed by NE in both the locations. Also, yield gap analysis suggested the NE had 44.44% and 23.97% increase in yield as compared to FPP in Kavrepalanchowk and Dang, respectively. The combined analysis with Best Linear Unbiased Estimator revealed the interaction of nutrient management and location significantly effects the straw yield and harvest index across both the locations. The estimated mean straw yield and harvest index were 10.93 t/ha and 34.98%, respectively. Both correlation study and biplot of principal component analysis signaled grain yield had positive correlation with all other traits. Furthermore, the net revenue was maximum for NE, followed by LCC in both the locations. The benefit: cost ratio was highest for NE which was 1.55 in Kavrepalanchowk and 2.61 in Dang. On the basis of these findings, NE and LCC can be effectively used as nutrient management practice by the farmers to obtain maximum production and profitability in Rice.

Probing into Job Satisfaction Among Community Campus Teachers

The chief objective of this article is to probe into the level of job satisfaction among community campus teachers. Job satisfaction is the state of how content persons are with their jobs. It can be appraised on the basis of their responses to their feelings, perceptions, likes and dislikes for the jobs. Divergent factors can influence the satisfaction level of the personnel in their work. A crosssectional survey design was adopted to carry out the research study. Twenty question items of five-point Likert scale type regarding the job satisfaction of the teachers were administered at two campuses situated in Dang District of Nepal in 2020. Simple random sampling technique (lottery) was used to select 52 campus teachers as respondents for the study by maintaining the confidence level (95%) and the margin of error (5%) from the population of 59 teachers. The collected data were statistically analyzed by using SPSS .The study revealed that the teachers were satisfied (Median=4) with their teaching profession at the respective campuses. The Mann-Whitney U test showed that the teachers of the two campuses had a similar level of job satisfaction. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in the job satisfaction between male teachers and female teachers.