KATHMANDU – Lawmakers have drawn the attention of the government to take concrete steps to address problems of the loan sharking victims. They were speaking in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives.
Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Manish Jha demanded that the government resolves their problems at the earliest. He referred to a woman victimised by loan sharking reached Kathmandu, the federal capital, on foot carrying her child, all the way from Siraha to join a protest against loan sharking. It took her 13 days to reach Kathmandu.
He blamed the local and central governments with failure to give justice to them. “The state should seek ways to resolve these problems. Why the central bank is not able to stop such activities?” he wondered.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairperson Rajendra Prasad Lingden urged the resolution of loan sharking victims immediately. He also drew the attention of the government to resolve the issue that followed the naming of Province 1 as ‘Koshi Province’.
Janata Samajwadi Party’s Ranju Kumari Jha demanded the formation of a parliamentary committee to address problems of the loan sharking victims. She also drew the attention of the concerned authority to the incidents wherein airhostesses have become victim of sexual violence.
People are forced to take loans at exorbitant rates of interest as bank loans are not easily available, according to him who sees the need of a substantive law to prevent anomalies in the disbursement of loans by microfinances and banks.
Nepal Workers and Peasants’ Party lawmaker Prem Suwal said the ministers so far should be held accountable for pushing the nation’s economy to the current situation. He apprised the House that an oncology device at the Bir Hospital needed to be repaired for long.
As he said, the protest against the naming of Koshi Province could be resolved through dialogues. CPN (UML)’s Shobha Gyawali expressed her concern over the rising cases of human-animal conflict in settlement near the National Park in Bardiya. “Animals from the park allegedly attack two-three locals daily. They have also largely damaged crops. So I thereby demand the government ensure the construction of a cemented boundary wall on the edge of park for the protection of settlement.
Pradip Poudel of the Nepali Congress Drew the government’s attention towards addressing the demands of those affected by loansharking. “They are completed to visit Kathmandu calling for justice. I heard that more are coming to join them. Their issues should be heard and addressed. Denial to justice is not acceptable.” He asserted that loansharking should be treated as a serious offense.
Demanding time in the session, CPN (UML)’s Raghuji Pant expressed his concern over a change in meeting agenda without any preparations and prior information. Why a bill which was said to be presented in the session was removed from the agenda, he questioned.
