Sindhulimadhi, January 26

Lack of banks and financial institutions has adversely affected everyday work of some of the rural municipalities in Sindhuli. Since most of the financial transaction is supposed to be done through bank, non availability of banks has hit general public, employees and elected representatives very hard in the district.

Though city areas have a number of private and government banks, there are no banks in remote areas.

Hariharpurgadhi Rural Municipality chairman Karsang Tamang said they had to walk for two days to get to the bank from Ghyanglekh, Hariharpurgadhi and Fikkal Rural municipalities as they lack banks. Tamang said lack of banks in their rural municipalities had added financial burden as they had to reach Sindhuli headquarters to avail themselves banking services. Tamang said lack of electricity had made it difficult to establish banks in remote areas.

For want of banks, government employees are forced to visit Sindhuli headquarters. Many private and government banks are providing their services from the headquarters. But, half of the local levels are sans banks in the district. Ghyanglekh Rural Municipality chair Jagat Bahadur Bholan said lack of banks had hit people, people’s representatives and government employees.

Bholan is of the opinion that banks at the headquarters should expand their services to rural municipalities too. Despite the Nepal Rastra Bank’s ruling to the banks to open branches in every local level, banks have yet to set up their branches in all local levels.