Jhapa, November 13

Kichakbadh, a tourist destination in Jhapa, has fallen in the shadow due to lack of advertisement.

Kichakbadh stretches over 10 bigaha land in Ward No 2 south of Bhadrapur Municipality. The 2,000-year-old palace was found when the department of archaeology excavated the area. Archaeologists had found clay bricks with the ‘swastik’ sign engraved on them during excavation in 2002. Former senior archaeologist Uddab Acharya of Department of Archaeology had mentioned the discovery of rare materials in his report. There is no doubt Kichakbadh will be a significant tourist destination in the east if stakeholders pay attention to its promotion.

According to Keshab Prasad Dhungana, the 64-year-old priest of a temple, the place was named after the character Kichhak, who was killed for showing negative attitude towards the Pandava queen Draupadi in the Mahabharata. In Kichakbadh, there are two statutes that depict Bhimsen slaying Kichak.

Chairman of Kichakbadh Religious and Historical Tourist Spot Conservation Committee Dil Bahadur Thebe said a new idol was constructed after the old idol started to collapse.

Locals organise a religious fair every year in Maghe Sukla Purnima when people from different communities and religions attend the fair.

Locals said people from Rajbanshi community organise special puja in the old pond of Kichakbadh. Thebe said a dam was constructed in Deuniya River at a cost of Rs 50 lakh offered by Nepal Government in a bid to conserve the area.