As Teej approached, the markets of Far West along with Dhangadhi were full of colors and crowds. From gold and silver shops to sarees and suits, from cosmetics to boutiques, the market was bustling with customers. But this year the market is deserted even with only one day left for Teej. Traders who even eat during Teej are free.

They complain that there is no expected business despite waiting for customers from morning to evening. "The customer shows the photo on Mobay and says, the goods are not as shown online?" A trader complained, "Not all traders have the same goods as shown online." The customer returns saying that he will order online now. It has a direct impact on traders.' 

The businessman who has been trading sarees and suits in Dhangadhi for 36 years said that he had never experienced such a decline in the market. He used to sell up to 40,000 clothes a day, but now he is finding it difficult to cut 5-7,000 a day. Having taken two shutters in the main market, he has to pay a monthly rent of 45,000. But the business is in loss. He said that the market, which is returning to the rhythm after the corona epidemic, is now slowing down again. Businessmen are disappointed with the heavy decline in business during the main season. The traders of the market area complain that they could not even collect the shutter rent.

After Corona, all the businessmen are complaining that the business has gone into loss and not getting the expected profit. Traders say that there has been a continuous decline in the gold business for the last few years. They said that due to the increase in taxes and the increase in prices, the number of customers who buy gold has decreased. 

Vivek Sop, the owner of the New Pashupati gold and silver jewelry shop at Hulakroad in Dhangadhi, says that the business has decreased during the main season of gold and silver consumption. This year, only a few customers come to the gold shop, which is packed during Teej. "Earlier there was a daily crowd, this year the number of customers has decreased significantly. Now, during the season, hardly 6-7 customers come in a day. Customers get excited after hearing the price of gold, online business is also affected,” he said. Another gold merchant from Dhangadhi said that although some orders are received online, not many customers come to the shop. The main reason for this decline in gold business is the luxury tax on gold, said Pushpa Kunwar, president of Kailali Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

In recent times online business has added a big challenge to the physical market. The traffic in the shop has started to decrease after the customers started viewing and ordering the goods easily through their mobile phones. According to Salma Kunwar, the owner of Salma Boutique at Dhangadhi LN Chowk, online business is the main reason for the slowdown in business in the market. She complained that the boutique, which used to have a high turnover during Teej, is deserted now. 

During Teej, he says that the boutiques that used to have 150 customers a day now only have 25-30 customers. Among them, more to see, less to buy. She said that it was difficult to collect the monthly rent of 85,000 shutters. She said that the business has decreased since customers started shopping from home on various social networks and apps instead of coming to the market.