Kedar Upreti, has been working as a newspaper seller for 21 years.
Despite being a newspaper seller, Upreti’s main source of income comes from vegetable farming. Uprety also had a book shop near Bishow Jyoti Hal, Jamal where he managed the shop for 19 years. After Bishow Jyoti Hall’s demolition, he had to close the shop.
“I still have all the books in my house. But I never stopped selling newspapers” Uprety said.
Upreti used to sell newspapers for NTV and Radio Nepal. He said, “I used to wake up early in the morning and distribute newspapers in different homes and offices. We had to distribute all the newspapers before 6 am.”
As demand for newspapers started fading, Upreti shifted his focus to vegetable farming for his livelihood. He said, “Most of the other newspaper sellers have also changed their occupation.”
Uprety believed that the newspapers have somewhat diminished in value at the present when social media is so deeply rooted in everyone's life. He explained how valuable newspapers were 15 years ago, when people sat under a Chautari, having a cup of tea and reading the news.
Talking about social media, Uprety said, “People have been too dependent on social media. It’s good that they are providing information but people fail to recognize if the news is accurate or fake. In a newspaper, only relevant news is published, and that is what makes newspaper different from the social media.”
Being an enthusiastic worker, Upreti says “I just need to be employed. I will do any kind of work. Every single rupee is incredibly important to me and my family. After finishing my work here, I will go home and start farming. I plan to work on the farm and herd goats.”
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