Thiruvananthapuram: The chairman of the State Level Banker’s Committee (SLBC), K.S. Pradeep, said on Monday that a special meeting of the SLBC will be called to discuss the measures needed to be taken for those who suffered in the Wayanad landslide.
“One of the measures we will be announcing on Monday itself will be a moratorium on repayments for a year for all those who suffered in the disaster on the loans that they have taken,” said Pradeep.
He said this after reports surfaced that the victims were shocked when they saw the banks debiting money from their accounts for the loans that they have availed.
“ This could be because of the standing instructions. We will make arrangements and tell all the banks not to do this till further notice,” added Pradeep.
The biggest ever natural disaster in a single place in the state took place on July 30 which left 416 dead.
Search operations for the over 150 missing people continued on Monday, the 14th day of the Wayanad landslide tragedy.
Banks at Chooralmala, one of the four worst affected villages, have disbursed loans of around Rs 29 crores.
Thankom, a victim in the affected area, said that her new house which was being built has been completely destroyed and she is worried about the loan that she has taken. Rehana , a daily wage labourer working at one of the tea estates in the area, said she was shocked to see a debit of Rs 1,500, from her salary of Rs 7,000.
However the state run Kerala Bank (the apex body of all cooperative banks) on Monday said it has decided to write off loans to the tune of Rs 6,65,000 in the Chooralmala area.
State Finance Minister K.N.Balagopal on Monday said while the government will do its best to assuage the sufferings of the victims, the banks should adopt a humane approach and help those who have lost everything.
–IANS
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