Bicycle sales in the Kathmandu Valley have soared as the fuel crisis has worried people enough to give serious thought to shifting to manually powered means of transportation.

Bicycle dealers have been cashing in on the rising demand as most petrol pumps still remain closed due to the blockade. Customers are seen thronging the nearest shops to buy cycles as per their choice and budget.

“Demand has surged significantly over a week,” said Uttam Manandhar, owner of Laxmi Cycle Shop at Asan. “I am selling 20-22 cycles daily against three-four units during normal times.” Traders said that mountain bikes, priced between Rs25,000 and Rs40,000, were in high demand.

Pancha Asta Narayan Cycle at Kamalachhi stated that demand had surged five-fold this week compared to normal times. “Motorists are looking for

alternatives as they have had to struggle hard to buy petrol. So sales have increased significantly,” said Tirek Manandhar, manager of the company.

He added that they were having a hard time delivering cycles to customers. The company which maintains an outlet on Kantipath, deals in brands like Giant, Jamis, Hero, Trinx and Everest. These cycles cost in the range of Rs10,000 to Rs350,000.

Raj Kumar Mahat, proprietor of KB Cycle Stores at Patan Dhoka, said that his shop was running out of stock. “Sales have doubled due to the fear of petrol shortages, but we have not been able to deliver cycles to our customers as our consignments have been stranded at Kolkata port due to the blockade,” said Mahat.

The shop deals in Sunrun mountain bikes which are priced between Rs11,500 and Rs38,000. “As the government has decided to stop providing petrol for private vehicles from Thursday, this will also drive demand for bicycles.”

Riju Shrestha, a media professional who was seen at KB Cycle, said she came to buy a cycle after her scooter ran out of fuel and fuel stations stopped sales. “The petrol panic can go on for a long period, but I don’t want to stop working just because of petrol. So I decided to buy a cycle. And yes, it has lots of health benefits too,” she said.

Bike Station, another cycle shop Kathmandu, is also doing brisk business. “We are getting lots of enquiries and orders although we deal in premium mountain bikes,” said Prayas Tamang, proprietor of the shop. He added that high earning corporate executives and mountain bike enthusiasts were the main customers. The company is the authorised distributor of Trek mountain bikes.

However, traders said that they had not been able to fulfil demand as shipments had been halted. Most of the cycles sold in Kathmandu are imported from China and India, but the container trucks bringing various goods are stuck at various border points.

“We have to bring cycles imported from China through Kolkata port, but the blockade has affected shipments,” said Tamang.