The Sipsu Dungpa, Rinchen Namgay, said that, without banking facilities, government officials had to travel 50 km from Sipsu to Samtse whenever they had to withdraw cash. A BoB branch office was set up in the late 1980s but was closed down in the early nineties due to security problems in the southern region.

Dorokha gewog, two days walk from Samtse, shares similar problems. Without banking facilities, farmers from Dorokha said that they had to borrow money from local moneylenders at high interest rates. “Some fail to repay and end up taking more loans that ultimately results in selling off their farmland, their only source of income,” said a farmer from Dorokha.

Government officials from Dorokha said that it was dangerous to travel with cash, especially during monsoon, where there were chances of the money and important documents being washed away. While heading towards Dorokha from Samtse, travellers have to cross a river 18 times.

Ngawang Dema, the BoB representative during the DYT meeting, said that the proposal would be forwarded to the head office. The Sipsu dungpa said that the issue was discussed several times in DYTs of the past, but nothing happened.

According to the managing director of BoB, they have not received any directives regarding the branch office at Dorokha and Sipsu but, once they do, a feasibility study would be carried out.