Vendors in Kathmandu report lack of money ahead of Dashain — Kathmandu Post
In Kathmandu, Nepal, two street vendors said that due to a lack of funds, they barely feel the approach of Dashain, the country’s biggest Hindu festival. The Kathmandu Post reports.
Twenty-six-year-old Lal Kumari Rokaya moved to the capital with her family two months ago, hoping to earn money in Nepal and give her two sons the opportunity to attend school. She previously lived in India with her husband. The family now rents a room in the Kalimati area, and her husband’s earnings are not enough for rent, food and the children’s education.
Travel expenses
Rokaya has been selling artificial decorative “money trees” on the streets for a month. Every day, she takes a minibus to New Road and walks near the Dharahara Tower, trying to sell her goods. One plant costs from 50 to 60 Nepalese rupees, but sometimes she finds it difficult to sell even five.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
According to the woman, a trip to her native Jumla, including transport, food and snacks, would cost about 13,000–14,000 Nepalese rupees. She noted that the money needed for such a trip could cover a month’s rent. Her earnings often go toward transport and snacks, and in the evening Rokaya sometimes returns home without any earnings.
Dashain alone
Sixty-six-year-old Gyanu Karki, whose family origins are linked to Kavre district, also does not plan to celebrate Dashain. He lives alone in Bhaktapur, sometimes cuts grass for sale during the day, and sells bottled water near Kathmandu Mall in the New Road area in the evening. The man spends his earnings on a room, food and everyday needs.
Karki said he was unable to receive the government payment for elderly people because his citizenship certificate lists an age younger than his actual one. He did not buy new clothes for the festival. On the day of Dashain, he will not sell water because he expects most people to leave the capital for their families, and he will stay in his room.
