Kathmandu, Nov. 11 -- For lamp seller Bibek Shrestha, Tihar was the highlight of the year. He would be busy making money with customers crowding his shop to buy fancy lamps to illuminate their homes during the festival.

Shrestha would stock up on festival lights worth more than Rs300,000 for the Tihar rush. But this year has been a disaster because of the coronavirus. Footfall at his shop Aakriti Electrical Shop at Gongabu is down sharply, and he is looking at a lacklustre season.

"Demand for electric lights has fallen steeply," Shrestha told the Post. "I have kept stocks of festival lights worth less than Rs100,000 this year because of the downturn," he said.

Tihar, or the festival of lights which begins on Friday, will be a low-key a...