Dhananjay earns money selling juice

By Our Correspondent,Sarlahi, May 11: Thousands of youths are leaving the country every day in search of employment. A large number of Nepali youths are also going to neighbouring India for work.

However, a young man from India is earning a good income by selling juice in Nepal.

Dhananjay Kumar Sah from Basantapur, Siwan district of India, has been selling juice from a handcart in the Amlekhganj jungle section of the Mahendra Highway for the past six years.

As one travels from the federal capital Kathmandu toward the southern plains, after passing the Churiamai Temple on the border of Madhes and Bagmati provinces, the heat gradually increases.

During the hot season, most travelers heading from Kathmandu stop at juice stalls around the Amlekhgunj jungle area to drink cold beverages such as sugarcane juice and coconut water.

There are about a dozen mobile stalls selling snacks and juice in this area.

As temperatures rise, areas like Amlekhgunj along the Mahendra Highway and other junctions and forest regions see good sales of watermelon, sugarcane juice, green coconut water, and cucumbers.

In the forest stretch of the highway passing through Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, and Mahottari districts, dozens of Nepali and Indian vendors like Dhananjay are currently engaged in selling fresh juice and snacks.

Among them, Dhananjay has been running his juice business there for six years.

Motorcyclists and passengers in private four-wheel vehicles often stop at these juice shops during the heat.

Dhananjay, who runs a cart named “Shiva Juice Shop,” said that during the summer season he sells juice worth Rs. 6,000 to 7,000 daily. After deduction of all expenses, he earns a profit of about Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3,000 per day.

After working for nine years in someone else’s juice shop, he started his own business by investing IRs. 100,000 to buy a cart and equipment.

He said, “I worked under a boss for nine years, and later I started my own cart business.”

Dhananjay said he has built a four-room house in India from his earnings.

He lives with only his father and brother in his family. While working in Amlekhgunj, he said he is happy with the respect and behaviour of Nepali people.

Apart from occasional trouble from police at the border while bringing sugarcane and coconuts from India, he said his business runs smoothly in Amlekhgunj.

“Now this place feels like my own home,” he said, adding that he lives in a rented room in Amlekhgunj. “My business is going well here, and everyone treats me kindly.”

As the business is going well, he has no immediate plans to return home. He occasionally visits home for urgent matters but quickly returns for work.