Once a vibrant shopping centre, Kuri Zampa in Monggar is now anything but a commercial hub. The only shop in the town barely earns Nu. 500 a day.
Kuri Zampa used to be a busy town a few decades ago. It was a shopping centre for the people from Tsamang, Silambi, Gongdue, Kengkhar and Saling Gewogs in Monggar. People from some parts of Lhuentse also flocked to Kuri Zampa for shopping.
The heyday it experienced those days is now a distant reality.
Today, 49-year-old Kadam Dema is the only shopkeeper in Kuri Zampa. She has been running the shop for a little more than 30 years now. Despite being the only shop, she says business is at its lowest.
“Then, there were hardly any shops along the highways, so they had to come here. But now they options. There are shops everywhere,” said Kadam Dema.
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The slump in the business began since the late 90s and continued persistently. As the gewogs got connected with roads and new towns cropped up, less people started coming to Kuri Zampa.
The coming up of Kurichu Hydropower Project added fuel to the fire. It was then followed by the development of new towns in Gyalpoizhing and Lingmithang.
Gradually, many businesses in Kuri Zampa, too, started moving to Gyalpoizhing. Sixty three-year-old Dorji is one of the shopkeepers who left Kuri Zampa for Gyalpoizhing.
“In the earlier days, business was lucrative because there weren’t roads and towns. Now, most of the Gewogs are connected with road, which means they have the option to go to other towns. So, slowly we lost all our customers and that’s why we moved to Gyalpoizhing.”
For many who know Kuri Zampa of the past, it’s hard to imagine the busy town is now almost deserted with just one shop and few houses.
