In Kanchanpur, government employee sells dragon fruit by bicycle, a message of self-employment

Ganeshdutta Panta, 32, of Mahuliya, Bhimdatta Municipality-2 in Kanchanpur, has set an example of self-employment by selling dragon fruit on a bicycle alongside his government job.

He has worked as an office assistant at the Office of the Comptroller General for 11 years. For the past four years, he has gone out on his bicycle for one to one-and-a-half hours in the morning and after 5 pm in the evening to sell fruit in the lanes of Mahendranagar market.

Panta says he earns a profit of about 1,000 to 1,200 rupees on days he trades. Besides the local market, he also brings in dragon fruit from Dang, Surkhet, Nepalgunj and Dadeldhura for wholesale and retail sale.

According to Panta, demand for the fruit is high in the market. He says he started the business to make good use of his free time after office hours. He adds that this income now covers household expenses, allowing him to save his salary.