Rs 500 million at risk as another Pokhara cooperative plunges into crisis

POKHARA: Pokhara Savings and Credit Cooperative Ltd has plunged into crisis, putting the savings of around 3,000 depositors at risk. This prompted the Cooperative Registrar’s Office of Gandaki Province to launch an investigation into the cooperative operations.

After the probe, the office has given the cooperative’s board of directors a one-week deadline to submit a recovery plan. “We have asked the promoters to present a work plan within a week. Let’s see what they propose. It is their responsibility to resolve the issue,” said Cooperative Registrar Bhesh Raj Rijal.

According to Rijal, the cooperative holds around Rs 500 million in deposits from its members.

Sources say complaints were first filed with the office some two years ago after the cooperative started returning depositors seeking to withdraw their money. However, the investigation was only initiated recently as the situation worsened.

No police complaint has been lodged so far.

“If any cooperative misuses funds, the money must be returned. If loans were issued to fake borrowers created by board directors, then they must repay them. The money of depositors must be refunded—that is part of the cooperative policy,” Rijal added.

Surendra Bahadur Godar is the chairperson of the cooperative’s Board of Directors. Several other influential people from Pokhara are associated with the cooperative. Nevertheless, depositors are increasingly anxious about the safety of their savings.

Established in 2001, Pokhara Cooperative began its operations from Sirjanachowk in Pokhara and later moved its main office to Nayabazaar. It still runs service centres in Amarsingh and Sirjanachowk.

Shambhuraj Bastola is the Vice-chairperson, while Dil Bahadur KC (Khatri) is the Secretary and Hira Mani Dahal is the Treasurer in the cooperative.

There are approximately 3,000 cooperatives across Gandaki Province, with about 300 under the jurisdiction of Pokhara Metropolitan City alone.

Previously, the Suryadarshan Cooperative scandal in Pokhara caused a nationwide uproar. With 18,700 depositors, it faces charges of misappropriating Rs 1.51 billion, with 63 individuals named as defendants. Similarly, the Image Cooperative fraud involved Rs 650 million, and the Balidan Cooperative misused Rs 110 million.