The recent Bill on loan-sharking does not seem to have impressed loan-shark victims much as their continued protests continue. Evana Manandhar of ApEx spoke with Nirga Nabin, spokesperson for Meter Bjay Tatha Thagi Birudda Kisan-Majdoor Sangharsa Samiti, to know the reasons behind their continued protest and the way out.
Why are loan-shark victims protesting even after the parliamentary nod for the Bill on loan-sharking?
The Bill has materialized as a result of our protest, but we are not fully satisfied with it as it has not done justice to some of our pressing concerns. The Bill states that charging exorbitant interest rates can land the offender in jail for up to seven years with a fine of Rs 70,000. The lenders’ concern is that corrupt practices, loopholes and a lack of means and resources may weaken the effectiveness of the Bill.
Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha met and assured loan shark victims of justice, didn’t he?
It is not enough to meet us and give assurances, we must check what he has done for us thus far. Even if a new minister replaces him tomorrow, we want the impactful steps he has taken in our interest to continue. For those lenders, who are close to power holders, rules have been lax. Such people don’t have to pay the fine for delayed payments, while we have no idea what percentage of interest we will have to pay. Interest rates payable to loan sharks are not uniform, either. The victims have to pay a 20 percent interest rate in Surkhet; in some places it is 24 percent and 10 percent in some other places. The interest rate has to be uniform throughout the country.
Are the protesters and the government holding talks regularly to resolve this problem?
We had meetings where we discussed how government organizations can use their authority to alleviate our plight. We also asked why banks do not provide small loans at relatively low interest rates. The government can manage all this quite efficiently. We are staging this protest for the sake of our rights like access to bank loans with low interest.
What’s your take on suppression of your protest?
We are staging a peaceful protest, yet the police are being quite brutal against us. I don’t think I need to say anything on this as we all can see what’s going on.
What’s your bottomline?
We want this problem resolved at the earliest because it has been affecting many people. There’s a need to deliver justice at the people’s doorsteps as we’ve seen a lot of victims suffering from mental health issues.
