Victims of cooperative savings demands staged a powerful protest at Maitighar, Kathmandu on Monday, demanding the return of their trapped savings. Protesters accused the government of discriminating between small and large savers and providing political protection to cooperative operators. Kushalbh KC, chairperson of the National Campaign to Protect Cooperative Savers, stated that the movement will continue and they will surround the ministry until their demands are met. July 28, Kathmandu.
The gathering of cooperative victims at Maitighar on Monday presented a poignant scene. Among the protesters was an individual who had brought a wheelchair-bound child with intellectual disabilities, traveling from Banepa to participate. Raju Silwal, who has 3 million rupees saved in Kantipur Cooperative of Banepa, described his increasingly difficult daily life. He said, “The money saved in the cooperative by selling our family land is neither returned nor earning interest. That’s why we must protest to reclaim that money.”
Similarly, Krishna Jung Pandey, a retired firefighter from Lalitpur, also took part in the protest. He revealed that the 3 million rupees he saved in Laligurans Savings and Credit Cooperative from his retirement benefits remain trapped. His pain is compounded by the inability to access savings for his son’s medical expenses. Netra Prasad Dangal, present at the protest, said, “The sweat of farmers has been stolen by cooperative fraudsters.”
Thousands of victims were present at Maitighar on Monday. The protest, organized by the National Campaign to Protect Cooperative Savers, proceeded from Kathmandu’s Maitighar to the problematic cooperative management committee office and the National Cooperative Authority office in Lalitpur. Various cooperative victims’ associations condemned delays in refunding savings, the government’s negligence, and the protection extended to cooperative fraudsters, chanting slogans against the government.
Kushalbh KC said, “The problems within cooperatives are now clear, but the government has shown no change in its approach. The government’s failure to even refund deposited savings raises the question of what hope remains.” The protest is scheduled to continue on Tuesday with plans to surround the ministries of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs, and General Administration. KC affirmed that the protests will persist until the demands of cooperative victims are addressed.
