POKHARA, JULY 1

Transportation entrepreneurs affiliated to Prithvi Highway Bus Operators’ Company have asked the government to allow them more time to pay instalments on bank loans.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the company in Pokhara today, its Chairperson Yogendra Bahadur KC spoke about the pressure banks and financial institutions were creating on entrepreneurs to pay loan instalments.

“Our vehicles have been gathering dust in some garage for about three months now, and they can’t be operated without repairs, which cost an extra amount, but in this situation banks and financial institutions are making calls telling us to pay loan instalment immediately,” he said.

“Banks must give us at least six months to pay loan instalments; or else there will be no option for us but to hand over our vehicle keys to them,” he said.

“Banks have 70 per cent investment in transportation business, with the remaining 30 per cent from our side. If banks are not ready to allow us more time to pay instalment, we will have to hand over the keys of our vehicles and seek our investment back,” he added.

Further, according to Chairperson KC, the company has asked all transportation entrepreneurs to hand over the keys and documents of around 1,400 vehicles under the company to it by July 5.

“There are about four million people directly or indirectly employed in the transportation sector in the country, so the government must heed our concerns and save this sector at this difficult time,” read a statement issued by the company today.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.