“We are nearing a situation where we have to shut all the shops in the marketplace. Goods of daily necessities have not been delivered to us since Tihar festival,” said Chet Prasad Pandey, retail store operator in Kohalpur. “We are not able to fulfill demands of consumers because the stocks of our goods are running out fast.”
Daily essential goods including cooking oil, noodles, rice, sugar, soaps, salt, biscuits and chocolates among others are almost out of stock, according to the traders. Almost all shops are on the verge of closure.
“I'm not able to pay salary to my four staff as the sales are very low,” said Sanu Barma, a retailer in Ranja of Nepalgunj. “I am planning to shut my shop in four days if the situation does not improve,” he added.
Although entrepreneurs said supply of goods were steady during the Dashain festival, they faced huge shortage in Tihar. “Apart from the Indian blockade, the halt of production of goods from home industries also led to the scarcity,” said Firoj Ansari, who operates a retail store in Setubik Chowk of Nepalgunj.
Krishna Prasad Shrestha, chairman of the Nepalgunj chapter of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), said that many stocks of goods have been stranded in Bhairahawa, Biratnagar and Kathmandu as they are not able to transport them due to the fuel crisis.
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