Surya Prasad Adhikari

August 21: Due to the recent economic slowdown in the country, a large number of industrialists and businessmen of Chitwan have started to quit their business. As they could not afford to pay the exorbitant interest, various taxes, rent and other expenses of banks and financial institutions, some industrialists have migrated abroad, while others have abandoned their business and are looking for other alternatives.

Due to lack of market demand, the industries have not been able to run at full capacity.

Businessmen in Chitwan say that poultry business, construction industry and fancy shops have been worst affected by the economic slowdown. Most of the entrepreneurs have gone bankrupt due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chunnarayan Shrestha, president of Chitwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says that the number of people leaving business and migrating abroad has increased since then. Although industrialists are optimistic, there has been no improvement in business. As a result, some entrepreneurs have started to change their business while some have gone abroad.

Shrestha said that because they could not afford the high interest rate of banks coupled with multiple taxes imposed by the government as well as rent and other operating expenses, people left the business and went to countries like the USA, Australia, Canada, and Japan.

 "If there is no improvement in economic and commercial activities, many more businessmen will migrate abroad," said Shrestha.

Shrestha said that there has been a decrease in the sale and consumption of manufactured goods due to the decline in the purchasing power of the consumers.

 Subsequently, the industries have reached a state where they cannot operate anymore.

“On the one hand, economic activity is slow, and on the other hand, the government's policy is not business-friendly. It is natural for businessmen to migrate abroad and look for alternatives in such a situation. But the government is not serious about its consequences. This will have a serious impact not only on the government's revenue, but also on the economy as a whole,'' says Shrestha. He said that since the government has recently increased the minimum wage, the industry will be affected more.

Raju Poudel, the outgoing president of Chitwan Industry Association, said that since a few months ago, industrialists started migrating abroad, looking for better alternatives.

According to him, the economic slowdown has affected the poultry business the most followed by the construction industry. He said that currently the industries in the district are running only at 30 to 50 percent capacity.

The economic slowdown has also affected retail and small businesses. Shops that used to be crowded for twelve months are often deserted these days. Businessmen say that customers come only sporadically to shops selling clothes, gold and silver, and food.

Gopal Bhattarai, vice president of Chitwan Chamber of Commerce, said that industrialists from Chitwan have gone abroad and started doing business.

"There is no hope or possibility that the business would improve," he said, "Forget about making a profit, we couldn’t  even meet the current expenses. In such a situation, the industrialists were forced to look for other options at home and abroad."

Bhattarai said that most of the businessmen are in confusion as to whether to quit or continue their business.

According to him, there are no signs of immediate improvement in the economy. The government's budget, policies and programmes and monetary policy have not addressed the current issues, says Bhattatrai.