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Udupi : Karkala Taluk Runamukta Horata Committee and Karkala Taluk Debt Relief Complain Committee will hold protest on December 3 at Bandimatt in Karkala here demanding action against bullying and torture of poor women in the pretext of debt recovery.

Addressing a press meet at Udupi Press Club here on Saturday, November 30, Manjunath Bailoor President of the committee said that there are nationalized banks operating in every village of Udupi district. But these banks in their jurisdiction are not lending loans to needy poor people. On the other hand, in the financial jurisdiction of these nationalized banks, few micro finance firms like L & T Muttoot, S. K. S.., Samsta Grameena Koota, Spandana Spoorthi, Bharat, Axix, Sangraha is targeting poor women in the villages and lending unsecured hand loans at exorbitant rate of interest.

These micro finances are availing loans from nationalized banks at 11% interest and are further lending the same to the poor rural women at flat 21% to 31% rate of interest and later expowering power and force to recover these loans from these women on a weekly basis. Recovery men of these finances are coming in groups to these poor women’s houses at odd hours and are subjecting them to mental torture. Poor women are further insulted, intimidated, threatened and terrorized. These poor women’s loan a/c’ never gets settled even after extended repayment of installments.

He said these micro finances claiming that they are operating by obtaining the license by the Reserve Bank of India, are violating the directions and banking law of the country and are conducting business illegally at the jurisdiction of nationalized banks but have remained unquestionable. The source of huge amount of illegal assets by these micro finances leads to suspicion.

The administration has completely failed in taking any action against them. Impact of floods and effects of G.S.T. have made the lives of poor rural women miserable. On the one hand, these poor women are suffering without any proper labour. On the other hand, the government banks that need to protest the interest of these poor women are not lending loans to these women. The intolerable level of atrocities by these micro finances on these poor women who are struggling to survive and are unable to repay the loans they have borrowed from these finances, have crossed all the limits. The inhuman behavior of these micro fiancés is endangering the lives of thse poor women who are subjected to disgrace.

He said we are therefore submitting this appeal to fulfill the following demands. We are demanding the government to freeze and waive the unsecured private hand loans lent by these micro finances to these poor rural agricultural labour families, backward and small farmers and to nationalize these micro finance institutions.

He said as these micro finance loans are a private business and are conducted violating the permissible act of law, the debt victims will stage a protest on 3^rd December at 10 am infront of Mini Vidhana Soudha, Karkala and submit an appeal to the government through Karkala Tahsildar urging the government to waive these loans under Waiver Act.

Sunil Hegde, Sukesh Bailoor, Vithesh Acharya, Ajekar, Prashanth Hemmude and Rajeevi were present during the press meet.