By Tika Ram Uprety
Jhapa, Dec 1:  The COVID-19 pandemic has upended almost all sectors – business or otherwise – across the world. And tourism industry is not an exception.
Like many other tourist places, Jhapa, where many individuals have heavily invested in tourism, is also reeling from the pandemic blow.
Nepal government, in an effort to encourage many to invest in tourism, had declared 2020 as Tourism Year with the motto `Visit Nepal 2020´.
However, as the year nears its end, the country is still struggling to bring the pandemic under control.
In addition to other tourism destinations, Water Kingdom Park and Resort, located at Ward No. 8, in Shivasatakshi Municipality, in the district, has faced a huge shock in its investment. It was constructed with an investment of more than Rs. 250 million, but has not been able to open due to the pandemic.
"We had planned to open the park for the visitors from mid-April, when the people celebrating Nepali New Year come to visit the Park, but the pandemic didn’t allow it. Even after closing it for nearly eight months, we don’t know when we will be able to open it," said Raj Kumar Sangroula, proprietor of the park.
The investors had ordered the necessary equipment for the Park from abroad and have 15 different water related entertainments, such as a room showering water like rains, playing in waves of ocean, water sliding, shower dance, water fall, web pool, playing station, majestic water bridge, swimming pool and sauna with steam bath, among other things, many of which are first of its kind in Nepal.
The park also provides a 20-metre-long zip line from east to west at a height of 60 metres.
"There are several tourism destinations awaiting a favourable situation when the government will allow them to resume services. The investors are facing huge losses," said Sangroula.
Eastern-Nepal have many similar water parks, which were in operation until the pandemic took hold, but all of them have been facing huge losses due to the pandemic, which is why everyone awaits the pandemic to end at the earliest.