Mahottari, 27 March: The heat is gradually increasing in the Terai Madhes. Due to the effects of weather change and climate change, recent years have been continuously getting hotter than the previous years. This year, the general public is worried that the heat will increase due to the effect of a dry winter, but the sugarcane juice traders here have started appearing in the market areas of Mahottari with excitement.
Mohammad Sabir of Gaushala-5 says that he started selling juice by crushing about one quintal of sugarcane daily with the onset of Chaitra, and that business is increasing as the summer heat increases. “There is good sales now, sometimes there are crowds of customers,” he said, who has been doing nomadic business from a cart in and around Bardibas Chowk. “After noon, more people are looking for juice. Since the onset of Chaitra, I have been selling juice by crushing about one quintal of sugarcane daily.”
Sabir, 40, who spent his youthful days abroad with great energy and courage, started selling sugarcane juice just a year ago. During this time, he said, he has paid off more than Rs 300,000 in debt, including the education of his family and four children, while going abroad. “This is the place for those who want to do it! I wondered what to do before going abroad, and spent 12 years in Malaysia and Qatar three times. I was burdened with debt,” says Sabir. “After stumbling and being cheated there, I finally realized that I had to do something here. Now, with the achievements I have achieved through hard work here, I wonder why I didn’t realize it earlier. It is going well.” He says that he earns about Rs 50,000 a month from the sugarcane juice business.
Currently, 15-16 people like Sabir have started doing similar business in the Bardibas Chowk Bazaar area. Most of them are those who have returned from abroad. One of them is Panchalal Shah of Mithila Municipality, Dhanusha. He used to sell juice in Bardibas Chowk, saying, “I went abroad following a broker, got stuck in debt, and couldn’t find the work I wanted there. After returning here, I am doing the same thing. Now I have no plans to leave my place and go anywhere.”
Shah, who has been doing this work for the last two years, said that he saves up to Rs 30,000 per month while taking care of a family of six. He says that he only regrets leaving behind a small investment venture in his hometown and going abroad.
As the summer heat increases, the sugarcane juice business is booming not only in Bardibas but also in Gaushala, Ramgopalpur, Aurahi and the district headquarters Jaleshwor. Those engaged in this business enjoy the neighboring markets rather than their own villages. “Yes, there is a good juice business in our Ishwarpur and Lalbandi too, but when you work a little further away from the area you are familiar with, you can do it openly,” says 21-year-old Vicky Kumar Shah of Srinagar in Ishwarpur Municipality of Sarlahi. “There are more people who criticize you than help you in your own place, that is why I chose Bardibas, which is 15-16 kilometers from my home.” Having already secured a passport to go abroad, he started this business after no one lent him a loan and says that he is currently satisfied with it. “It is okay for me not to be lent to anyone, if I had believed, what kind of situation would I have been in! Nowadays, I am enjoying my own country. I do not have to be burdened by the burden of debt, and my income is also good,” Shah expressed his happiness.
Samim Kawari of Bhangaha-3, who does business in Aurahi market, is also happy, saying that business will increase as the summer heat increases. “The business of sugarcane is good, but the demand increases even more as the summer heat increases. It is a problem when the heat is experienced, but since business also happens, this is an opportunity for us. Along with the income generated from this, it is very pleasant to be able to share happiness with family,” he said.
Almost all the traders involved in this business express their happiness by saying that they can start their own business by investing about Rs. 200,000 in the installation of a cart and a motor. In addition, this business is made easier by the fact that they can buy sugarcane on credit and repay it with the income from the juice. Sugarcane is available here for Rs. 1,000 per quintal. It costs Rs. 100 per quintal to peel sugarcane. Since sugarcane cultivation is more in Mahottari, Sarlahi and Dhanusha, traders say that they do not have to wander around looking for raw materials (sugarcane) here.
Sugarcane juice is also beneficial for health and is not adulterated with any inedible substances, so its demand increases during the summer. Sugarcane juice is preferred by consumers in the Terai Madhes because it is more beneficial for health than other beverages available in the market, says Suresh Paswan, Head of the Health Branch of Bardibas Municipality.
