The government on Tuesday formed a four-member team headed by the joint secretary at the Home Ministry Rudra Devi Sharma to hold talks with the loan shark victims.

Home Ministry Under Secretary Dil Kumar Tamang, Under Secretary at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Minister Uma Kanta Adhikari and Under Secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Jung Bahadur Dangi are members of the talks team.

The prime minister’s secretariat said a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday will discuss the formulation of necessary laws to address the victims' demands.

Hundreds of victims, mostly women, from several Tarai districts have come to Kathmandu after travelling for 11 days on foot to press the government to crack down on unscrupulous lenders.

The protestors on Monday marched in front of the Khula Manch demanding legal actions against loan sharks. They also asked the government to provide them loans at lower interest rates, bring laws against unscrupulous lending and scrapping of personal mortgaging contracts known as Tamasuk.

Although they tried to enter the Khula Manch, police deployed by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City stopped them, leading to a scuffle.

The protestors returned to Kathmandu six months after signing a five-point agreement with the government in September last year after which they had ended their protest.

The government said it is now in the process of introducing the law that would criminalise loan sharking. The state will file a case and pursue legal action against loan sharks once it is designated as a crime.