Khaptad-Chhededaha became the first in the country in ‘One House One Bank Account’

BAJURA: Khaptad Chhededaha village municipality of the district has been declared as the first village municipality in Nepal to complete one house one bank account campaign. The campaign has been completed in collaboration with Chhededaha branch of Himalayan Bank Limited.

The village municipality had launched a campaign through Himalayan Bank with the slogan ‘Increase in Financial Awareness-Balanced Economic Activities for Self-Reliance, Bank Account for Self-Reliance’.

The announcement was made during a special program organized in the village municipality on Friday. In the new year of 2076 BS, the government had announced open bank account campaign with the slogan ‘Let’s connect with prosperity, all Nepali bank accounts’. The bank has opened 9,476 accounts under the campaign in a period of one year in a village municipality with a population of 22,135 and 3,234 households.

Inaugurating the program, Chief Guest of the program, Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Far Western Regional Office, Subash Chandra Ghimire, said that economic activities would be facilitated and development programs would be accelerated only with the participation of banks and financial institutions. He said that he felt that the level of banking awareness in this sector was very high. Thanking all the participants in the campaign, he said that this kind of work was a model for Nepal’s financial literacy campaign.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest Bajura Chief District Officer Krishna Gaire said that this kind of program, which was completed in a short time, would make the slogan of ‘Increase in Financial Awareness-Balanced Economic Activities, Increase Savings through Bank Account for Self-Reliance’ a reality. Commenting on the campaign, local Surja Devi Rawat said that the campaign launched by Himalayan Bank has identified the village municipality as a model municipality and has significantly increased banking awareness and services to the locals.

Lal Bahadur Rawat, proprietor of local businessman Subendra General Store, said that the establishment of a branch of Himalayan Bank has brought modern banking services from the district headquarters Martadi and Dhangadhi to its doorstep and is improving the living standard of the locals. He expressed happiness over the fact that loans from Sahu Mahajans at high interest rates are available at home through ‘A’ class banks at concessional interest rates.

Chairman of the program and Village Chairman Nar Bahadur Rawat expressed happiness over the emergence of the local body of the district, which is at the bottom of the Human Development Index, 86 years after the launch of banking services in Nepal, as a model in the financial literacy campaign. The program was attended by about 5,000 people including heads of all security agencies of Bajura district, principals of 31 local public schools, teachers and students, representatives of local political parties and the general public.