Dashain shopping picks up, but livestock sales lag in Chitwan

Traders who brought goats and Himalayan goats from western Nepal had hoped for brisk business, but buyers have been slower to arrive than expected.

The Dashain shopping rush is building, with markets filling up as families prepare for Nepal’s biggest festival. For livestock traders, this is usually one of the busiest times of the year, when demand for goats and Himalayan goats, known as chyangra, from the high hills and mountains surges. But in Chitwan, sales have fallen short of traders’ expectations, dampening hopes for a brisk festival season.