Kerala: Banks take host of measures to help Wayanad survivors

Steps to rehabilitate survivors of the Wayanad landslides are progressing, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. As part of it, banks have decided to refund the EMIs deducted from the victims’ accounts after July 30 and restructure their existing loans.

Vijayan said on Tuesday (August 20) that the banks will also present to their boards the suggestion to waive the loans taken by those affected by the landslides.

These decisions were taken at a State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, the CM said at a press conference.

Relief to survivors

He said in the meeting, it was decided that the EMIs collected after July 30 from those in the disaster areas would be refunded to their respective bank accounts. Financial support will also be provided to those who had to make various repayments even after the calamity.

It was also decided that all existing loans taken for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes would be restructured as soon as possible, unsecured consumption loans of up to Rs 25,000, that can be repaid in 30 months, provided for immediate relief, and all recovery procedures in the disaster-hit areas suspended for the time being, the CM said.

Besides, financial assistance provided to the affected persons shall not be converted into repayment of their existing financial obligations and the National Automated Clearing House mandates related to bank accounts of people from disaster-hit areas will be reviewed to avoid financial stress on them, the CM said.

Additionally, the SLBC also asked banks to take necessary steps to ease the terms of new loans and provide them quickly to those affected by the disaster.

Other rehab measures

“The support of banks in Kerala is essential to bring back to the mainstream the unfortunate people who have lost their means of living and are struggling for survival,” the CM said.

Vijayan had on Monday expressed the government’s strong displeasure over banks deducting monthly instalments of loans from the accounts of landslide victims and survivors in Wayanad, and demanded that these loans be written off completely.

The other rehabilitation measures included arranging and providing accommodation to those who lost their homes in the landslides and providing Rs 6 lakh as compensation to the next of kin of those who died in the disaster.

17 families wiped out

The CM said there were no survivors from 17 families who lived in the disaster-hit areas.

Some 119 people are still missing and DNA samples of 91 of their relatives have been collected and sent for testing.

Major landslides hit the Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions of Wayanad on July 30, almost decimating both areas and killing over 200 people and injuring many.

(With agency inputs)