The main cities outside the Kathmandu Valley have the same sights and sounds as evening begins to fall. That is - the passengers who are preparing to go home in a hurry and the sound of closing the shutters one after the other and the market becoming deserted before the night gets dark. From Dharan in the east to Biratnagar and from Chitwan to the tourist town of Pokhara and from Butwal Bhairahawa to Nepalgunj in Lumbini Province, the common sight is the deserted night.

A research paper published in April 2025 by Khazana Research Center in Malaysia has concluded that when night business flourishes, from small vendors to large businesses can benefit simultaneously . The study mentions that small to medium enterprises have flourished in the night market due to the government incentives and easy access environment. Initiatives such as the use of digital payment systems, financial access, and tourism-based promotional campaigns will further strengthen the potential of the night market, the research also mentions.  But this is not the case in Nepal. In some cities, dance bars and dance halls are open till late at night . But because of that, the local administration keeps changing the rules and the tendency to fix the time showing the reason of security, the cities become deserted at night. For example, the local administration has allowed dance bars in Biratnagar and Dharan to operate only till 12 midnight. But most of the dance bars close before then . 

District Administration Office Morang has also instructed to close the business within 12. Chief District Officer Indradev Yadav said, "In the case of dance bars, there is a provision that shutters should be closed by 12:00 pm and other businesses by 10:00 pm."

There is no different story, even Chitwan. There are around 900 hotels in Chitwan, including those who are members of the Hoteliers Association of Chitwan and those who are not. But Yagya Bahadur Karki, Vice President of Chitwan Hoteliers Association said that there is a rule that these hotels will be closed after 11:00 pm. He said that the shutters of Chitwan's market area are closed in the evening and said that this rule is also due to the administration. 

The situation in Nepalgunj from Bhairahawa border is similar. The city will be deserted before the evening jumps in. The businessmen here also tried to make the night market of Nepalgunj operational. They started the practice of opening the market till 11 pm in view of the 'street food lane', but this effort did not continue .

Dharan, which has the common identity of the city of Lahore, is quickly changing into a modern city. From new restaurants and coffeeshops to bars . Although it is the center of the eastern hills, Dharan begins to slow down before night falls. As the evening falls, Bhanu Chowk, the main market of Dharan, becomes deserted. Before 9 o'clock in the night, Dharan starts to get deserted. Neither the shops seem to be open nor the vehicles available . Instead, the scene of passengers hurrying towards their destination is always repeated. 

Even Pokhara, which has been introduced as a tourist city, does not seem to be awake all night. Although a number of night clubs, night bars and dohori keep Pokhara alive until late at night, the restaurants and coffee shops here gradually close down after 8-9 pm . Public transport usually closes at 7 o'clock in summer and 6 o'clock in winter. The direct hit is the employees who return home after working late at night in hotels and restaurants . Since there are only about 4500 employees working in hotels and restaurants in the city area. 

2080 Pokhara was declared the capital of tourism on Chait 4. At the same time, it was also announced that Pokhara would be opened 24 hours a day. But even such an announcement could not keep the city awake all night . A decade ago, some of the lakeside clubs had even brought permission for 24-hour operation directly from the Ministry of Home Affairs . But due to the lack of integrated efforts, such an exercise could not last long . 

President of Hotel Association Pokhara Laxman Subedi says that the announcement of opening 24 hours was made in haste. "Police manpower is limited, there is no situation to increase manpower," he says, "nearby hotels are losing guests due to night business." Not only the police and administration, but also the local level are not clear about night business. And because of this ambiguity, those engaged in night business are forced to suffer. The experience of Gupta Lama, who is running a club catwalk with a capacity of 2,000 people at Pokhara's lakeside with an investment of 25 million rupees, says that our administrations are not ready to run a night market. "The police, the administration, the tax office all have their eyes on the night business," he said, "How can it be that businessmen have fled because of the habit of showing mistakes." He said, "If you want to stay in Narayangarh or Bharatpur after 11 o'clock at the place where travelers from all over the country come and stop, you will not be able to find a hotel."