KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 12

Authorities in Parsa district have settled 1,697 cases of extortionate money lending through mediation, recovering Rs 291 million in cash and over 40 bighas of land.

According to District Police Office spokesperson Hari Bahadur Basnet, a total of 2,367 cases were registered, of which 635 are still pending.

However, victims say the practice of coercive lending continues. 'Loan sharks still exploit borrowers with falsified documents and inflated interest rates,' said Shambhu Prasad Yadav of the Farmers Struggle Committee Against Usury.

Locals have called on the government to take stricter measures to eliminate such predatory practices.

(With inputs from RSS)