October 9: The real estate entrepreneurs have said that the country's economy is in crisis due to the wrong policy taken by the government in the field of real estate and housing. The businessmen said this while speaking at the 'Real Estate Entrepreneurs’ Gathering-2080' organized by the Nepal Real Estate and Housing Development Federation in Kathmandu.

Speaking at the meeting, Nepal Chamber of Commerce President Rajendra Malla said that all stakeholders should join hands to convert the real estate business into an industry and Nepal Chamber of Commerce will fully support this initiative.

He said that the businessmen are currently in as state of panic because of the flawed lens with which the government has been viewing this sector.

Kush Kumar Joshi, the former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that there is no respect for businessmen and that businessmen viewed as profit-making individuals.

He said that peaceful demonstration to ensure the rights of businessmen alone is not enough.

'In a country built on movement, nothing will be heard without movement. I do not know which part of the state the businessmen belong to. Where is the taxpayers’ right? Did we lag behind because we did not hit the streets like the teachers did recently?,' he questioned.

Joshi said that the policy that keeps changing from time to time cannot work reliably, and he said that a long-term policy should be introduced. "It should be clear who will pay for the damage caused by this changing policy," said Joshi. He said that the current problem in Nepal's economy is not because of foreign wars but because of the frequent change of governments.

Adviser of Nepal Land and Housing Development Federation, Ichha Bahadur Wagle said that banks and financial sector have gone too far by increasing interest rates.

“Banks give 12 percent interest to those who do nothing but eat and sleep,” said Wagle, adding sarcastically that those who toil hard have to pay a 16 percent interest rate.

Chandra Prasad Dhakal, President of Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that it is necessary to increase the confidence of consumers to bring the economy on the right track.

He said that the government and the private sector should work together to create a situation to increase the demand in the market.

The district coordinators and presidents of the federation who came from all over the country criticized the current governor as the main culprit for the current situation. They said that the leadership should take the initiative, saying that they are ready even if they have to start a street protest.

The president of the federation, Bhesraj Lohani, said that there is still a lot to be done about land pooling, and he said that he would move forward after taking everyone's suggestions into account.