A Study of Indian Hawkers in Kathmandu District

Abstract

Hawking is a ubiquitous feature in Asian cities. Normally it can be seen on the street of urban areas around the world. It is an activity falls under the informal scope of economy. Even the illiterate, unskilled and economically poor people can run such types of business with investing very less initial capital in comparison to formal sector. This paper aims to describe the socio-economic and demographic status as well as business behaviors of the Indian Fruits and Vegetables Hawkers in Kathmandu District. This study is based on the haphazard In Street Interview with altogether one hundred and ten (82 fruits and 28 vegetables) Indian hawkers through bicycle from the ten different clusters of Kathmandu District. Three snap shot case studies were also conducted to gather the necessary data. The study finds out that most of the fruits and vegetables hawkers through bicycle in Kathmandu District are the Indians. Most of them are illiterate and non-farming people who belong to the Betiya and Motihari District of Bihar. Open boarder, family culture, peers inspiration and low initial investment intended them to join in hawking profession. Almost all the hawkers pull their bicycle more than ten hours a day. By investing about Rs.3500 initially and about Rs.4000/day they earn at least Rs.20000/month after deducting all expenses. Despite of different problems, harsh natural situations and non-humanitarian behavior of the locals, more than seventy percent hawkers are satisfied with this profession. The interesting fact is that none of the government of Nepal (local and federal) has kept the record about those hawkers who are neither got registration nor paying tax to the state. On the other hand, the Embassy of India is also unknown about their citizens who are dwelling in Nepal and running the hawking profession for a long.