Nepalgunj. Depositors in Nepalgunj have been forced to walk away as they have not been able to return their savings kept in cooperatives. Maya Pasi of Nepalgunj is still wandering as she has not been able to return the money she had saved in a cooperative society in Nepalgunj five years ago.

“I have not yet received back the money I collected by paying someone else’s rent and washing my clothes,” he said. Pasi urged the government to take initiative to return the money saved, saying that no action has been taken even after reaching various agencies including the CDO office for the money saved.

“I had kept money in cooperatives on the basis of trust but never imagined that this would happen,” he said. He had kept Rs 328,000 for savings in the then Financial Development Cooperative. The cooperative is currently closed. Pasi had saved money in the cooperative on the pretext of doing a particular job, including his daughter’s marriage.

Savitri devi has the same problem. He also said that he had saved Rs 600,000 in the cooperative. “I saved my daughter’s marriage, but all my dreams were shattered,” he said.

Prashant Bista, mayor of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City, said that the cooperatives have been working against their norms in the banking system.

He also stressed the need for discussion on how to return the money of small savers, saying there was a lack of human resources to regulate the financial condition and accountability of the cooperatives.

Assistant Chief District Officer Umakanta Adhikari said that there was a legal problem as the loan was invested in a place where the loan could not be invested.

Alok Ojha, officiating principal of Cooperative Training Ministry, Banke, said that the cooperatives were facing problems due to activities contrary to the basic principles and spirit of cooperatives.

Chief of cooperative department of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City, Prabin Thapa, said that the main problem of savings return and loan recovery in cooperatives is the main problem.

Prem Subedi, president of the District Cooperative Association, Banke, said that the new working procedure has been brought to monitor and regulate the cooperatives. According to Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City, around five cooperatives in Nepalgunj are still in trouble.