Nepali itinerant traders from Sudurpaschim province are not just active in Nepal but also sell various items in neighbouring Indian border towns.

Among them is 63-year-old Dhanlal Neupane of Thakalipur in ward 3 of Lamki Chuha Municipality, Kailali, who spends winters selling clothes and blankets in Tankpur and Banbasa in Champawat district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.

Neupane, who moved from Kalikot to Kailali, started travelling to Tanakpur for business years ago. “For the past 15 years, I’ve been moving between Tanakpur, Khatima and Banbasa selling clothes,” he said. “In winter, we carry clothes from village to village. We return with the onset of summer.” He rents a room in Tanakpur and spends the day selling clothes door to door.

He brings most of the clothes from Panipat, India and also brings some from Nepal’s mountainous regions. “Earlier, items like radi, pakhi and chutuka (traditional woollen carpets) sold well, but now few people recognise the items and know their importance,” said Neupane.

Neupane usually arrives in Tanakpur at the start of mid-November and returns home by the end of mid-March. He earns in a season to save Rs150,000–200,000, which has helped fund the education of his four sons. “I do business in winter and stay home during the hot months,” he said.

Similarly, 38-year-old Baldev Budha of ward 2 in Swamikartik Khapar Rural Municipality, Bajura, has been selling clothes in the Tanakpur area for five years. Like Neupane, he brings clothes from Panipat. “There’s little hope for work at home, so we have to come to India to make a living,” he said.

Budha explained the challenges of carrying heavy loads and walking long distances, noting the exhaustion after a full day. He uses vehicles for distant trips but walks locally.

“Business is never consistent—some days are good, other days I don’t earn even a rupee,” he said. Budha said that online sales have also affected itinerant traders, lowering prices and making it harder to sell the expensive clothes they import.