Coronavirus takes toll on Palpali Dhaka textile industry

The coronavirs fear has taken its toll on specially the Dhaka textile industry in Palpa, besides hotel, restaurant and other businesses.

The district headquarters, Tansen, which lies at the midpoint between Lumbini and Pokhara, looks like empty of people. The number of commuters has drastically gone down and there is less movement of people in the town.

Before this, Tansen used to teem with people and visitors. Now, it wears a deserted look as number of tourists has fallen sharply for fear of coronavirus (COVID-19). This has impacted the tourism business.

The Palpali Dhaka textile industry and hotel business have been hit the most from the coronavirus fear, according to the businessmen concerned. Palpa is best known for the iconic Dhaka fabric that is manufactured here.

"The Dhaka cloth industry has been badly affected by the fear of coronavirus infection. The trade of this textile has slumped. Even the textile manufactured has not sold," said Sagar Maharjan who is involved in the Dhaka textile business for long.

Tourists come here for buying Dhaka cloth. But the arrival of foreign tourists has sharply decreased due to the fear of coronavirus. The visitors coming to Palpa buy the Dhaka fabric as souvenir. Foreign visitors used to buy large quantities of the textile and the businessmen made a decent earning.

Businessman Manoj Poudel said the Dhaka textile business has slumped as the number of foreign visitors has fallen following the coronavirus fear.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the handicraft industry and various other enterprises as well.