Kathmandu, April 2
The government has inked a five-point agreement with the loan shark victims, convincing them to end the weeks-long demonstrations.
In the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Home Secretary Binod Prakash Singh, a team formed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal signed the agreement with leaders of the demonstrators in Kathmandu on Saturday afternoon.
As per the agreement, the government would establish a high-level commission to look into reports of fraud in loan agreements issued by loan sharks and make legal reforms to criminalise usury by them. Likewise, chief district officials would be authorised to look into reports of such cases at the district level.
Previous to this, Prime Minister Dahal had directed officials to draft a bill to address the problem so that the government could endorse it from the parliament through a fast track.
Loan shark victims, mainly coming from districts of the southern plains, say local loan sharks have been duping them of millions of rupees in compound interests calculated in an unfair system locally known as the meterbyaj.
