Women gathered at the regional office of Unity from distant villages have disclosed that Unity agents would repeatedly come to their houses to enlist them as members. They complained that the agents have now gone out of contact and even their office has shut down. [break]
"They made me a member, saying that I would earn more if I made others members also," Ambika Rai of Khotang, who is currently living at Baidam, Pokhara, said. "On the basis of that, I made dishwashers at Lakeside hotels members. I am surprised to find now that it was a fraudulent scheme," she confided.
Rai has enlisted 18 members in two and half years, including relatives and acquaintances, most of whom are dishwashers. They are now coming to Rai to get their money back after news about Unity made front-page headlines.
"Many hard working women have become members, saving on their daily meals. Some have even borrowed the money. After hearing all this they now want their money back. How can I return all the money?" she asked.
Similarly, Sita Magar of Kaskikot VDC recalled how a relative came to her house seven times to make her a member. The relative made five persons in her family members, assuring her that she could pay in installments when she said she didn´t have the money.
"We cannot even make ends meet. I have erred in putting hard-earned money into this useless thing," Magar said at Unity Hospital in Pokhara. She said most of households in Kaskikot have joined Unity as members.
Durga Gurung, an elderly woman from Pokhara, said she was made a member with promises of life-long free medical treatment, despite her reluctance. "But I was made to pay when I came here for treatment..." Accountant at the hospital Janardan Subedi said there are around 100,000 members in Gandaki Zone alone.
Chakra Dhimal, 53, of Dhaijan-7, Jhapa had been planning for the past five years to complete his house with savings from wages earned by himself and his wife Mangali, 45. But they were duped into membership two months ago.
The Dhimal couple didn´t even know about the latest developments and were shocked when they were told.
"They promised that the money would not go down the drain. I gave them the money after being told about free treatment and bonus," Mangali, who was made a member by her neighbor Nirmal Dahal, added. Mangali has paid Dahal Rs 12,000 for membership but has not been given any receipt or certificate in return.
"It would have been better had we invested the money in our house. We could at least have lived in peace during the monsoon," she said. Chakra has been pulling a rickshaw in Dhulabari for the past 15 years while Mangali works as a laborer. They have two children to support.
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