Uttam Phuyal, 25, originally from Panauti, has been selling fruits on the streets of Kathmandu for the last five years. He has been doing brisk business, except for the days affected by bandas. Tuesday’s banda left him disappointed as it affected his daily business. “Bandas like this have always hampered business. I usually place my cart at New Baneshwar and I sell almost everything by the end of the day. But today, nearly half of the fruits I brought for sale are left untouched,” said Phuyal. According to him, he sells fruits worth around Rs 2,500 during normal days.
At a corner near Dharahara tower in Sundhara, Devika Neupane, 40, was surrounded by a group of customers. Although she looked busy making chatpate for them, she didn’t seem all that happy. “We are the ones who suffer when political parties call bandas. They don’t understand how it affects our livelihood,” said Neupane. “At the end of a normal day, I usually make around Rs 1,000. But on days like this, I hardly make Rs 500. I have children, so it really hurts when I am not able to earn enough to feed them,” said Neupane.
Worth of stories
Sunita (name changed), a tea vendor, also shared her dissatisfaction over the banda. According to her, she sells around 80 cups of tea on normal days. “I have been selling tea for the last four years. I sell about 80 cups per day, but during bandas very few people visit my stall. Moreover, I suffer losses on days like this as I have to throw away all the curdled milk,” said Sunita.
Krishna Dhakal, 62, who lives in Basundhara, shares a similar plight. The single woman, originally from Dolakha, has been selling clothes on the streets of Sundhara for more than a decade. “At a time when business is not as good as it used to be, bandas come as a bane for us. I have not sold even a single towel today,” said Dhakal.
Photos by: Riwaj Rai/Republica
