Kathmandu. The Nepal Valuers Association has announced the second phase of strong protest programs against Himalayan Bank Limited. The announcement has been made for ignoring the repeated talks and correspondence to resolve the problem related to the valuation of the mortgage.
At a press conference held at the National Press Club in Anamnagar on Monday, the association’s president Engineer Sanjay Kumar Mahato, vice-president and coordinator of the agitation committee Engineer Manish Karna and General Secretary Engineer Ashok Silwal made public the protest programs. Reading out the statement, General Secretary Silwal said that all the work related to the valuation of the securities related to Himalayan Bank has already been boycotted and the agitation will be further strengthened if the demands are not addressed.
Similarly, Vice-Chairman Karna said that 6,000 to 7,000 engineers are associated with the organization and warned that the banks would be forced to take strict action if they ignored their demands. He said that the valuation fee has not been adjusted for years and demanded that a uniform and transparent system should be implemented like other commercial banks. Mahato, the president of the association, complained that even though the banks were supposed to invest billions of rupees in loans on the basis of the evaluator’s report, they were forced to take to the streets against the institutions connected to their jurisdiction.
According to the association, in the discussion held in August last year, there was a demand for a uniform report format like other commercial banks, transparent bilateral agreements, allotment of work to the listed valuers in a rotational system and the implementation of scientific service charges. However, the organization has accused the bank management of not taking any positive initiative in this regard. According to the announced program, from the first week of September, all the work related to the new and old mortgage valuation, re-evaluation and progress report related to Himalayan Bank will be completely boycotted for an indefinite period.
Similarly, it has been decided to submit a memorandum to the Nepal Rastra Bank, Nepal Engineering Council and the Ministry of Finance, create pressure through the media and social media, and express solidarity with other technical organizations. Similarly, in the first week, evaluators across the country will protest by tying black bands on their hands. The association has threatened to stage a peaceful sit-in at the bank’s central office and major branches across the country and start a relay hunger strike at the central office if their demands are not met.
It has also been stated that those who secretly evaluate the bank against the decision of the agitation will be identified and made public and a recommendation will be made to the concerned body for professional and legal action. Clarifying that they are still open to resolve the problem through dialogue, the association has said that the bank management should take full responsibility for the inconvenience caused to the financial sector and service recipients due to the agitation if their demands are not addressed immediately.
