Bishnu Bhandari, proprietor of Subha Lakshmi Furniture Industry, used to sell furniture worth Rs10 million annually until two years ago. He had employed 26 workers in the factory.

But there is a new trend now. The Nepali households, nowadays, don’t prefer local carpenters.

The Indian carpenters hop across to Nepal on bicycles and take private orders. They come early in the morning and return by the evening. The Nepali households prefer the touring Indian workers because they make furniture at a cheaper rate.

As a result, many well-established local carpenter factories are on the brink of collapse.

Last year, Bhandari laid off 12 workers. He now has only six workers left at the factory.

“This year, I might not have a business of even Rs4 million,” said Bhandari.

Bhandari is not alone in the district who is suffering.

Butwal Furniture Industries Association said more than 100 furniture factories in the district have shut down over the last two years.

“Those who are operating have started to lay off workers,” said Ashok Kunwar, general secretary of the association. “Around 60 percent of the factories have started laying off workers.”

Estimates show more than 1,000 Nepali carpenters have lost their jobs in the last two years in Rupandehi alone.

The local carpenters say that Indian carpenters cross the border in a team of 10 or 12, on bicycles, early in the morning. They visit the under-construction houses, hotels and corporate offices to make furniture items. They return home in the evening after finishing their work.

“The touring carpenters neither pay taxes nor the government has maintained any record. The money goes to India through unofficial channels,” said Kunwar.

“The local government is responsible for regulating unregistered workers, industries and trade, but it has not paid enough attention,” he said. “This has put the entire furniture industry at risk.”

The Indian carpenters work at a price of Rs300 per square foot. The Nepali workers charge up to Rs350 to Rs400 per square foot to make furniture.

According to Kunwar, Nepali furniture factories use Nepal-made plywood to prepare furniture items which are durable but costlier.

In most cases, the Indian carpenters bring their plywood from India.

“The Indian carpenters use compressed boards which are easy and faster to turn into furniture. The plywood on the other hand takes more time and effort to finish. So, the Indian workers can work at comparatively lower prices and deliver the furniture in a shorter time span,” said Kunwar.

Although customers benefit from such workers due to their cheaper labour, in the long run, the trend may result in a great loss in terms of the closure of the domestic industries.

“There is a loss of revenue to the government as well,” added Kunwar.

Lil Karki, coordinator of the Butwal Furniture Industry Association, Tilottama division, said the Indian carpenters use Indian-made compressed boards.

“So, the Nepali customers have to buy the raw materials imported from India. They also pay the wages to the Indian workers. This shows that the Nepali furniture industry is on the brink of collapse,” said Karki. “The materials used by Nepali plywood industries such as adhesive, Formica, and wood are sourced locally.”

Until two years ago, there were more than 300 furniture industries in Rupandehi.

Of them, 180 were associated with the Butwal Furniture Industry Association.

The furniture industries in the district have annual transactions of up to Rs50 million a year.

The items produced by these companies are sold in the markets of Lumbini province and Kathmandu.

Binod Neupane, a local sawmill operator, demanded the local government put restrictions on such wandering Indian workers to protect the domestic furniture industries.

“The trend of such workers has increased in the last two years,” said Neupane. “We pay taxes to the government, but we have not received any support from the government.”

Madhav Poudel, president of the Rupandehi Chamber of Industries, said that Rupandehi is transforming as an industrial hub at a faster pace. “Closure of furniture industries may impact the local economic activities and employment generation.”