Nepali businesses down, Indian markets up

At a time the Omicron Covid-19 variant has been rapidly spreading in the country, Nepalis are flocking to bordering Indian markets. Retailers say businesses of Bardiya district are in dire straits as locals mostly cross the border for shopping, thereby also increasing the risk of covid spread.

According to Matin Idrishi, proprietor of Idrishi Traders on Bhansar Road in Gulariya Municipality-6, Nepalis like going to Indian markets like Balaigaun Bazaar, Laukahi, Chitlawa Bazar, Bathaniya and Tinkuniya to get their necessities. “We, on the other hand, have no business and are only paying rent and tax,” he says. 

“Sometimes, we don’t get a single customer,” he laments. “The government should make long-term plans to promote businesses in the district. Otherwise, we will all go bankrupt.”

Businessmen have also drawn the attention of local administration through the Bardiya Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The business community has asked for overcrowding in the Indian markets to stop. Bardiya Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Devendra Pandey says, “We visited the bordering Laukahi market for monitoring and found it overcrowded. Every day, around 500 people were found to be crossing the border from a single small entry point for household purchases. This has increased the risk of spreading the virus.”

The traders of Bardiya are also on the verge of going bankrupt. Some have already quit business. Pandey reckons businesses of the entire district are at peril. “We have been asking the local administration to establish custom posts to monitor the movement of goods and people and to issue permits for shopping,” he says.

Pandey says security personnel on both sides are slack. Locals especially like visiting the bordering Indian markets during festivals and weddings.

Ramesh Kumar Tharu, a resident of Bhaisahi in Barbardiya Municipality, says he goes to Laukahi to buy daily edibles like cooking oil. Prices there, he says, are relatively cheap, even though the quality of the products on offer are a bit suspect.

Chief District Office Santa Bahadur Sunar says one option would be to seal the open border points but that could invite all kinds of consequences.