Kathmandu, March 6

Each year, hundreds gather around various places in Kathmandu to celebrate the Holi festival with this year being no different. People throng the streets, play with colours, splash water and wish 'Happy Holi' to each other. Meanwhile, traders wait for customers outside their shops decorated with white t-shirts with 'Happy Holi' printed on them and other items, including coloured powders and even toys, in hopes of doing some business, taking advantage of the festive season.

Although the Holi-related business was more vibrant this year, market activities are still lower compared to 2019, stakeholders say.

Santosh Kumar Gupta, a shop owner and a resident of Jorpati, has been in the apparel business for over 24 years. He brought out a stock of t-shirts with 'Happy Holi' printed on them from his storage and hung them outside his shop to attract any passers-by looking to purchase them for the Holi festival. In the past two days, Gupta managed to sell over 400 t-shirts.

'I was able to sell each t-shirt for Rs 250 on Sunday but am offering them for Rs 150 today or else I will have to return them back to the storage again till next year. The festive season is an opportunity for businessmen like us to increase our sales. Although the number of t-shirts sold this year has increased compared to previous years, business is still about 30 per cent lower compared to the market activities before the spread COVID-19 pandemic when the number of sales reached between 800 and 1,000 t-shirts in a single day,' he said.

Gupta also opined that the increase in the number of garment shops and traders has affected his sales but that it also indicates a steady increase in demand compared to the previous year. 'With increasing market activity, we hope for better days ahead,' he added.

A few shops apart, Pashupati Kumar Singh, a resident of Saptari district who has been doing business in Kathmandu for the past two decades, also awaited any interested customers looking to buy some coloured powders or toys for their children. He remarked that sales were still lower compared to previous years due to the increasing number of traders and decrease in the purchasing capacity of the people.

'Most of the coloured powders are made in Janakpur and imported to Kathmandu to cater to the festive demands. However, the cost of coloured powders has increased by over 30 per cent compared to previous years while the number of customers has decreased. We used to receive over 500 customers a day around this time of the year before the pandemic but the situation is not the same anymore. Even when someone shows up, they are still reluctant to make a purchase easily,' he told The Himalayan Times.

Meanwhile, Bimala Devi, a senior citizen, had also laid out her shop of colours and Holi t-shirts on the pavement in hopes of doing some business despite being on constant alert for the municipal police showing up. Devi was selling a pack of colours for Rs 20 each and t-shirts for Rs 150 per piece. 'I have been staying here since early morning. The business had been slow and I hope the municipal police don't show up any time soon. Doing business has become much harder for old people like us,' she shared.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 7, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.