Dhangadi, March 22

One after another, branches of microfinance companies are being padlocked in Sudurpaschim Province of late.

So far, three branches of microfinance companies have been padlocked in Kanchanpur and Darchula districts. Other microfinance companies are said to be following suit.

Just yesterday, cadres of a youth wing of Netra Bikram Chand-led Nepal Communist Party padlocked two microfinance companies based in Gokuleshwor of Shailyashikhar Municipality, in Darchula. They padlocked the branch office of NirdhanMicrofinance Company and the office of another microfinance company in Gokuleshwor. The microfinance companies have been accused of causing mental stress and suffering to burrowers by issuing loans at extremely high interest rates.

Issuing a statement, the Chand-led party-aligned youth organisation's Darchula in-charge Jiban Bista and Om Prakash Rawal explained the reason behind their decision to padlock the microfinance offices.

Meanwhile, police later broke the padlock at the offices.

Earlier, a microfinance branch office in Kanchanpur was also padlocked.

National Microfinance Company's Suda-based branch office was padlocked.

Juna Sunar of Ghodaghodi Municipality, Kailali lamented that she didn't see any prospect of being able to pay back the loan she had taken from different financial institutions. 'I have a loan of 3.1 million rupees from 13 microfinance companies. I don't know how I will pay,' she said. 'They come almost everyday asking for payment of instalment, but I have been sending them away, saying I will pay them when I have money.'

Majority of microfinance companies don't consider the financial condition of borrowers and whether they have already taken loans from other companies before they provide loans to customers.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 23, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.