By Hari Prasad Koirala, Urlabari, July 27: When the hotel he operated was forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic, Megh Raj Basnet of Belbari Municipality-10 in Morang turned to selling vegetables along the Chisang-Bhaunne section of the Mahendra Highway.
What began as a necessity has since grown into a thriving business.
Basnet, who owned only a modest house and a small plot of upland farmland, started the roadside business nearly six years ago and never returned to the hotel trade after the lockdown ended.
Today, he is one of more than 40 traders selling seasonal agricultural produce along the highway.
The areas around Bhaunne and the Chisang River are known for commercial banana and maize farming, while the nearby forests are rich in fiddlehead ferns.
Besides bananas and maize, products such as fiddlehead ferns, yams, sugarcane juice, coconut water, lemons and seasonal vegetables have become local specialities.
“We have green maize throughout the year,” Basnet said. “Farmers lease out their maize fields for between Rs. 8,000 and Rs. 11,000 per kattha. We bring firewood from the surrounding forest, light the stoves and grill the maize. Many customers specifically ask for maize grilled over sal firewood washed down by the Chisang River.”
Basnet has been running the business for almost six years and says he has never returned home empty-handed.
The 54-year-old supports a family of seven, including his wife, four daughters and a son. Every family member contributes to the business.
“Sometimes I run the shop, sometimes my wife does. We also have to visit villages to arrange contracts for green maize,” he said.
After deducting daily expenses, he earns around Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 1,200 a day. Next to Basnet’s stall, Tek Bahadur Yakha sells yams, green maize and bananas, while his daughter roasts maize nearby.
“My wife joins us after 3 p.m. to help,” Yakha said. “Our family of five depends entirely on this roadside business. Vehicles travelling from Kathmandu often stop here just to eat roasted maize. In the morning there is a rush of customers buying fresh maize, and business becomes even better during the seasons for vegetables and fiddlehead ferns.”
Another trader, Shambhu Basnet, also supports his family by selling grilled maize. “The lockdown made us entrepreneurs,” he said. A maize farmer himself, Basnet said the roadside market had dramatically improved farmers’ incomes.
‘In the past we had to plead with traders to buy our maize, and it was difficult even to recover production costs,” he said. “Now, by selling green maize, a kattha of land can earn around Rs. 10,000 if sold fresh, or up to Rs. 18,000 if the maize is grilled and sold directly.”
He added that the traders’ biggest challenge is the lack of drinking water because the market is located in a forest area. Since permanent sheds are not allowed in the forest, each vendor has arranged simple seating such as wooden stools and chairs for customers.
Basnet and Yakha are just two among more than 40 traders who now make a living from the roadside market.
As the roadside agricultural market established during the pandemic has flourished, farmers in Belbari wards 8, 10 and 11, as well as Kanepokhari wards 5 and 7, have expanded commercial maize and banana cultivation.
Farmer Keshav Bhandari of Belbari-10 said there is no shortage of buyers for green maize. “Farmers are now harvesting and selling maize three times a year,” he said.
Celebrities, political leaders, senior government officials and journalists travelling along the Mahendra Highway often stop here to enjoy the famous roasted maize before continuing their journey.
The Rising Nepal
