Punishing prices

Everything seems expensive this festive season. Lax monitoring and silent consumers are to blame.

Nepal this year enters its festival season with a blend of hope and heaviness. The bloodshed of September 8 and 9 is still fresh in our minds. In the aftermath of the movement, Nepal formed an interim government tasked with holding elections on 5 March 2026. Now, with hopes for a better future, many have returned to a new normal and left the federal capital, Kathmandu, and other major cities to celebrate festivals in their hometowns and villages. Yet soaring market prices and costly travel will follow them wherever they go.