November 11: Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged its district and municipal chapters to postpone their ongoing agitation against the interest rate increased by banks and financial institutions until the November 20 elections are over.    
The district and municipality level chapters of NCC have been asked to put off the agitation considering the elections, according to a statement issued by NCC on Thursday.    
The NCC has launched an agitation against the hike in interest rate by banks and financial institutions and against the short-term loan guidelines of the Nepal Rastra Bank.    
The statement reads, "The country is in the midst of the elections to the House of Representatives and the Provincial Assembly. The NCC will take initiatives to resolve the problems through discussions with the government while continuing the protest peacefully after the polls. The district and municipality-level chapters of NCC have been urged to postpone all the protest programmes."    
NCC President Rajendra Malla argued that continuing the agitation would cause more problems amidst the elections although industrialists have faced a setback due to an extreme increase in the interest rate by banks and financial institutions.    
"Even though there are many options to decrease the interest rate, the government has not listened to the demands of the industrialists. There is no alternative than to launch a protest soon after the elections," he shared. -- RSS