Business remains slow in New Road even during festivals, traders worried

Traders in Kathmandu's New Road say business did not meet expectations even during Dashain and Tihar this year. They said that in the past, one to one-and-a-half months of festive-season business used to be enough to cover expenses for up to six months.

This year, they say it will be difficult to settle bank interest, house rent, staff salaries and outstanding credit. Traders say they have faced economic pressure for the past four to five years as business has declined since the Covid pandemic.

Trader Ravindra Kumar Bohora said festive-season business now serves more to balance the year's accounts than to generate profit. He complained that even as bank interest rates climbed to around 15-20 percent after the pandemic, there has been no relief on rent or interest, and called for coordination among the state, banks and landlords to provide such relief.

Trader Shanti Upadhyay said business has long been affected by the earthquake, border blockade and protests, yet house rent still tends to rise by 20-40 percent every two years. She said traders are now in a position where they can neither quit business nor manage their expenses.

Another trader, Naresh Katuwal, said that even though money has piled up in banks, the loan process remains cumbersome, and called on Nepal Rastra Bank and the government to simplify it.