Alappuzha: A group of 13 women of Om Gurusree self-help group (SHG) in Keerikad in Alappuzha on Tuesday carried out a sit-in protest in front of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam branch in Keerikad South on Tuesday as the Yogam union failed to return over Rs 2 lakh as it had promised earlier. The women staged the protest cooking tapioca and chilly chutney in front of the branch office, alleging that the Kayamkulam union had agreed to make the payment after it came to light that its officials had not paid to Canara Bank the money the SHG had been entrusting them with for the repayment of a loan of Rs 5 lakh it had taken from the bank. DC had reported about plight of the women duped by the micro finance scheme on February 9.
“We want the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register a case and make the culprits accountable,” said SHG secretary S. Shylaja. “We have been waiting for them for the last one-and-a-half years to pay the pending loan amount which we had paid. This is the second time they failed to meet their part of the bargain. Now, we have no confidence in them.” SHG president Mini Sivasuthan said it was unacceptable that the bank keep sending them legal notices. “We have committed no crime to bear this unnecessary shame,” she said. The women are agitated that the industrial unit they had started has collapsed after the bank refused a fresh loan, treating them as defaulters. SNDP Yogam Kayamkulam union secretary Pradeep Lal said the union had given no deadline. “However, we will take steps to pay back the loan soon,” he said.
