Balkrishna doing brisk business of watermelon

By Our Correspondent,Babai (Bardiya), May 13: With the growing heat in the Tarai, the watermelon business has also boomed. Many locals are making good money from selling the fruit. 

Balkrishna Tharu, 58, from Bardiya Gulariya Municipality-4, rides his motorcycle, registered as Bhe 3 Pa 7611, fitted with a wooden basket. He places watermelons in the basket and reaches Gulariya market by 7:0 o’clock in the morning, sells all the watermelons brought, and returns home by 9:0 o’clock. After quickly eating his meal, he heads to his office. In the evening, around 6 o’clock, he comes back home and gets busy again in the fields. Tharu is actively involved in seasonal agriculture activities while giving continuity to his job.

Balkrishna, a resident of Bechepur, has been engaged in the trade of watermelon and seasonal vegetables alongside his job during the summer season. He sells the watermelons he grows in his own farmland throughout the season and earns income from it. Balkrishna has been able to sell watermelons worth up to Rs. 500,000 during the summer. "I drive the office vehicle during the daytime, and in my free time, I work on my farm. Every morning, I load the watermelons grown in my farm onto my motorcycle and sell them at the Gulariya market, making around Rs. 2,000 each day," said Tharu. Balkrishna is taking care of 15 family members with his income.

Balkrishna drives his bike loaded with the juicy fruit to every street in the Gulariya market. According to Dilip Raj Ghimire, a teacher from Gulariya Municipality Ward No. 4, the watermelons produced in Balkrishna's own village are much tastier than those imported from India and sold in the market. He added that the locals prefer to buy watermelons from Balkrishna because of the quality and taste.

In the recent times, youth who go abroad saying nothing can be done in Nepal can take lessons from Balkrishna.