Kathmandu. As people return home from Kathmandu Valley to celebrate Bada Dashain and other festivals, there is a crowd of shoppers in the main cities and markets to buy clothes, household items and gift items. With the Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals approaching, the crowd of shoppers has increased in the markets of Kathmandu Valley.

As in the past, the number of customers has increased in the main business areas of Kathmandu, shopping malls, departmental stores and local shops. People who have been living in Kathmandu for employment, studies and various work are preparing to return home to celebrate the festival.

The desire to wear new clothes has taken Janaki Gyawali, a resident of Gulmi, to New Road, Kathmandu. Gyawali, who went to the market to buy clothes for Dashain, said, “I don’t mind if I don’t wear new clothes for Dashain, I am looking for cheap and good clothes. This is the fun of Dashain.” ‘

He feels that consumers are shopping according to their financial capacity as goods are available in the Kathmandu market worth Rs 100 to lakhs. “In Kathmandu, everyone from the poor to the rich can buy goods according to their capacity. This is a good aspect,” said Gyawali.

Festival-specific discounts and special offers have also attracted consumers in the market. Anshika Thapa, a businessman who runs a cloth sale market under Shankhamul Tower, said that she is selling winter clothes at discounts as the winter season is about to start.

He said that the main customers of his shop are those who go out of the valley during Dashain, Tihar and Chhath. Thapa said that people are busy from the Ghatasthapana of Dashain to the business Ashtami.

The practice of carrying koseli for family and relatives during the festival has also increased the shopping in the market. Mohan Paneru of Doti, who is buying conduit to take home in New Road, said that he also buys spices for Dashain from Kathmandu.

He said that they buy goods from Kathmandu as they are comparatively cheaper. He said that they buy goods from Kathmandu as they are comparatively cheaper than in the villages.

“My parents are happy at home after taking the spices,” Paneru said. Meanwhile, Mangal Bazaar in Lagankhel, Lalitpur, is also bustling with people shopping for the festival. The market, which used to be busy even in normal times, is now crowded with customers.

Ghanashyam Rauniyar, who has been running a garment business in Mangal Bazaar of Latitpur for the past three decades, said that this year’s Dashain festival is less enthusiastic than in the past. He said that consumers have not been able to spend freely due to the impact of disasters like floods, landslides, rising prices and economic crisis. “The price of goods is high,” he said, adding that it is a challenge to sell even the goods kept at special discounts. ‘

Although the market is bustling during the festivals, there is no coordination between the purchasing power of consumers and business expectations of businessmen.