Devghat is a town
located at the junction of the Sapta Gandaki and Krishna
Gandaki rivers in Central Nepal and is one of the holiest places
in Hindu mythology as well as a holy place for Hindu gods. Lying 7
kilometres from the city of Narayangarh, 20 kilometres from Sauraha and
150 kilometres southwest of the capital Kathmandu. The area boasts
many natural features due to its geography and climate including tropical
forests, wild animals and birds. Dev ghat is home to various temples and
caves of Hindu gods, goddesses, and saints including Goddess Sita's cave,
Bashistha Cave, Radha Krishna Temple, Galeshwor Temple, Sita Ram Temple, Laxmi
Narayan Temple, Shankaracharya Temple, Bageshori Temple, Laxmi Narayan Divya
Dham, Maula Kalika Temple, and Bishwa Shanti Dharmashala among others. Mahesh
Sanyas, Hari Hara, Sharana Gati, Galeshwor, Radha Sarbeshwor Bhajan and Yogi
Narahari Nath are ashrams where various religious activities are
performed all year round. In Makar Sankranti, hugemelas (gatherings) are
observed each year making it one of the largest religious melas in Nepal. The
date when this festival started remains unknown. Hindu pilgrims bathe at the
junction of the Krishna Gandaki river well-known for its rare 'Saligram
Sheela (holy stone), which Hindu devotees worship as
Lord Vishnu which are in India.
Devghat is in a modern transitional stage of development.
It has three high schools, one post-graduate college, three retirement home
projects, one ayurvedic health station, part of Bharatpur medical
college, the guest house of B P Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital etc.
Volunteers from various health organizations provide free health check up camps
on a regular basis. A historic suspension bridge connects the Tanahun and
Chitwan districts of the town.
The government of Nepal has established Devghat
Area Development Committee for the integrated development of this area while
the non-resident Nepalese Association has established a project to construct
200 retirement homes in the Chitwan district of the town.
A proposed
Saptagandaki hydropower plant is in the pipeline for construction. It
is expected that living standards in the area will improve if the project goes
ahead.