Around 300 depositors of crisis-ridden Oriental Cooperatives on
Wednesday picketed the Nepal Rastra Bank's central office in Baluwatar,
Kathmandu, to pressure deputy governor Maha Prasad Adhikari who heads
the committee formed to recommend solutions for troubled cooperatives,
including Oriental.
The committee formed six months ago is expected to submit its report shortly. The government had formed the committee after it received complaints about massive embezzlement of public deposits in cooperatives such as Oriental, Guna, Ugrachandi, Corona and Exim, among others.
The depositors had submitted a memorandum to Adhikari on Tuesday. About 7000 depositors are not being able to withdraw their deposits worth Rs 4 billion from Oriental. The depositors have demanded the committee address their concerns at the earliest. Crisis at Oriental began after its main promoter Sudhir Basnet failed in his real estate ventures. He has used the deposits in the cooperatives in his businesses.
The depositors accused the government of not taking the issue "seriously". "It's not a case of an individual, but of more than 7,000 people," said Narayan Shrestha, member of the Oriental Depositors' Welfare Committee. "The government should work as a guardian of the innocent people."
Kanchha Bhagat, who deposited Rs 700,000 in Oriental's Bhaktapur branch, said they are even ready to give up interests if the principal amount is paid. "The government can auction Basnet's property to pay back the depositors," he said.
Another depositor Gopal Baba, who has Rs 3 million in Oriental, sought the government's intervention to solve the problem.
Basnet, however, does not owe money only to Oriental depositors. He also has to pay millions of rupees to those who placed bookings for apartments at his housing projects, besides loans to banks and financial institutions.
Oriental depositors are getting hopeless about getting back their deposits. "We will no longer believe in Basnet's "crocodile tears", said Dharma Raj Rawat, a depositor from Lalitpur. The depositors have demanded the government investigate the property of Basnet, his relatives and senior officials of his business enterprises.
src ekantipur
The committee formed six months ago is expected to submit its report shortly. The government had formed the committee after it received complaints about massive embezzlement of public deposits in cooperatives such as Oriental, Guna, Ugrachandi, Corona and Exim, among others.
The depositors had submitted a memorandum to Adhikari on Tuesday. About 7000 depositors are not being able to withdraw their deposits worth Rs 4 billion from Oriental. The depositors have demanded the committee address their concerns at the earliest. Crisis at Oriental began after its main promoter Sudhir Basnet failed in his real estate ventures. He has used the deposits in the cooperatives in his businesses.
The depositors accused the government of not taking the issue "seriously". "It's not a case of an individual, but of more than 7,000 people," said Narayan Shrestha, member of the Oriental Depositors' Welfare Committee. "The government should work as a guardian of the innocent people."
Kanchha Bhagat, who deposited Rs 700,000 in Oriental's Bhaktapur branch, said they are even ready to give up interests if the principal amount is paid. "The government can auction Basnet's property to pay back the depositors," he said.
Another depositor Gopal Baba, who has Rs 3 million in Oriental, sought the government's intervention to solve the problem.
Basnet, however, does not owe money only to Oriental depositors. He also has to pay millions of rupees to those who placed bookings for apartments at his housing projects, besides loans to banks and financial institutions.
Oriental depositors are getting hopeless about getting back their deposits. "We will no longer believe in Basnet's "crocodile tears", said Dharma Raj Rawat, a depositor from Lalitpur. The depositors have demanded the government investigate the property of Basnet, his relatives and senior officials of his business enterprises.
src ekantipur
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