Raxaul,India – Ranjeet Kumar considers himself lucky to receive any business from nepal given the recent violence in the neighboring country.
The 50-year-old runs a century-old shop selling religious items in Raxaul, Bihar, barely 800 meters (about 2,600 feet) from the India-Nepal border, and the last market in the area.
Kumar sells items commonly used in daily Hindu prayers on both sides of the border, such as sacred thread and fire pits for ceremonies. However, sales from Nepal have decreased since mass anti-corruption protests began on September 8.
The protests, led by Nepal’s Gen Z, resulted in 72 deaths, including one Indian national, and more than 2,000 injuries in the Himalayan nation.
Even though the border was closed for a week during the peak of the violence, residents near the border were able to obtain permission for quick shopping trips into India, mitigating the impact on Kumar’s business. “They came and went quickly,” he said.
But many others have not been so lucky.
Arun Kumar gupta, 55, a cloth trader in Raxaul, told Al Jazeera that his business stalled during the unrest, making it difficult to pay his three employees.
“Over 90 percent of businesses in markets bordering Nepal rely on Nepalese customers,” Gupta said.
India shares an approximately 1,750km-long (1,088-mile) porous border with nepal, traversing five Indian states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim. These states provide numerous entry points between the two countries, and citizens of both sides can travel freely across the open border without a passport.
India is Nepal’s largest trading partner and biggest source of foreign investment, accounting for roughly two-thirds of Nepal’s merchandise trade and one-third of its services.
India exports petroleum products,chemical fertilizers,salt,sugar,rice,vehicles,copper,and cotton,among other goods,to Nepal. It imports hydroelectric power, resin, yarn, and handicrafts from the smaller country.
Total trade between India and Nepal reached $8.5 billion in 2024-25,including $7.3 billion in exports from India and approximately $1.2 billion in imports.
[Image: Ranjeet Kumar sells items for Hindu religious ceremonies near the Nepal border [Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera]]
Major Blow
The protests in Nepal forced the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli after youth protestors set the parliament building and the homes of several politicians ablaze. Nepal’s president later appointed 73-year-old Sushila Karki, a former Supreme Court chief justice, as interim prime minister, following a nomination by the Gen-Z movement. Elections have been scheduled for March.
Since then,the violence has subsided,and cross-border movement has resumed.
However, traders report that business has not returned to normal.
“The political turmoil has left people too afraid to spend money as they normally would. They fear the violence could reignite,” said Suresh Kumar, who runs a ladieswear shop in Raxaul. “They have limited their shopping to essential items.”
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