Dashain clothing and gold-silver sales fell short of expectations, say traders

Traders have complained that sales of clothing, fancy items and gold and silver during this year's Dashain fell short of expectations.

Businesses in Kathmandu's New Road and Lalitpur's Patan area said sales were less than half compared to previous years. In the past, these markets would be crowded with shoppers throughout Dashain, and traders would earn good income.

According to them, the aftermath of the flooding in Rasuwa's Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, along with rising prices of goods, affected business this year.

Some traders had stocked goods worth hundreds of thousands of rupees for Dashain, but these have not sold.

Clothing trader Pramila Shrestha said that despite stocking goods worth around 400,000 to 500,000 rupees for Dashain, sales were not as expected. She believes customers stayed away because the Rasuwa floods affected the general public's Dashain itself.