Asnikumar urges FM to address banking gaps in Thanga
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 18 2025: Loktak Development Authority former chairman and BJP Manipur Pradesh senior spokesperson M Asnikumar on Friday met Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss issues concerning financial inclusion and development in Manipur.

During the meeting at North Block, New Delhi, Asnikumar underscored the urgent need to improve banking infrastructure in the remote yet significant Thanga assembly constituency.

Encircled by the Loktak Lake, Thanga and its surrounding villages including Keibul Lamjao, Chandapur, and Moirang Khunou, currently do not have a single scheduled bank branch or ATM facility.

Asnikumar informed the finance minister that residents of these predominantly rural and cash-dependent areas are compelled to travel to Moirang or Kumbi for basic banking services, making every day financial transactions and access to welfare schemes, extremely difficult.

The absence of banking facilities is a major obstacle to economic empowerment and inclusive development, he said, stressing that access to financial services is a fundamental requirement for enabling entrepreneurship, social mobility, and effective implementation of government programmes.

"Inclusive development cannot happen without financial inclusion," he asserted during the meeting.

Asnikumar urged the finance minister to facilitate immediate establishment of two scheduled bank branches, one at Thanga and another at Chingmei.

He also requested the installation of four ATM machines at Thanga Part-I and Part-II, Moirang Khunou, and Kha Thinungei GP areas.

He recalled that a proposal for these services had already been approved by the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) in 2017 under the chairmanship of the then chief secretary of Manipur, following the direction of the late union finance minister Arun Jaitley, whom he had approached in 2015 on the same issue.

Sitharaman gave a sympathetic hearing and acknowledged the importance of improving financial access in far-flung regions.

Asnikumar also remarked that the path to lasting peace and progress in Manipur is through financial inclusion, environmental conservation, and culturally rooted development.

With timely intervention and support, places like Thanga can thrive as models of resilience, sustainability, and opportunity, he said.

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