KATHMANDU: A trade union has been harrassing Kist Bank’s Dhangadi branch office since last week.

The bank had brought a scheme to finance youths for buying rickshaws under the Youth Self-employment Programme under an agreement with the Finance Ministry. “The rickshaw-pullers could

become the owners themselves after they repaying the loan in two years,”

said bank deputy general manager Bal Narsing Gharti. “The scheme was brought to make the youths self-employed so that they need not pull others’ rickshaws but

get their own with the

help of Kist Microfinance loan-Rickshaw.”

Gharti said, “Now, the rickshaw-pullers are

harrassing our branch office alleging that we are charging them high

interest. This is not true.” He added that they were provoked by the other unions who egged them on saying that the rickshaws should be given for free, which is against the agreement with finance ministry and the bank.

According to the agreement between the Finance Ministry and Kist Bank, the ministry will provide the bank loan at seven per cent interest while the bank will finance rickshaw-pullers at 12 per cent interest.

To rickshaw-pullers paying interest regularly, the government will return 60 per cent of the interest also.