TILOTTAMA: More than 200 business firms were closed in Rupandehi in the previous fiscal year 2022/23.
According to the Office of Cottage and Small Industries, Bhairahawa, as many as 217 firms — 84 production-oriented, 19 related to agriculture and forest, 63 related to service-oriented and 51 related to tourism — were closed in the district.
Industrialists said the industries were closed due to various reasons including load shedding, economic crisis and high interest rate of banks. Of the closed industries, most of them were from Tilottama Municipality, Siddharthangar Municipality and Butwal Sub-Metropolis.
President of Rupandehi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Madhav Poudel, said the closure of more than 200 industries in a year shows the condition of industrialists in the district. He mentioned that the condition to close small industries was created due to Covid 19 pandemic, high-interest rate on loan and policy-level obstacles in import and export.
President of Butwal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Central Committee member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), Ujjwal Kasaju, opined that high-interest rates on bank loans, problems of marketisation and lack of full operation of airport are some of the causes behind the closure of the industries.
Some of the large-scale industries are sustaining their expenses by limiting their production capacity to 25-40 per cent, he shared.
Information Officer at Office of the Cottage and Small Industries, Bhairahawa, Netra Prasad Bhusal, informed that around 1,030 industries were registered under cottage in the district.
