Madura

AIDWA’s charge against micro-finance firms

AIDWA members, who gathered at the Madurai Collectorate on Monday, charged SHGS and micro-finance firms of harassing women who availed loans.   | Photo Credit: G. Moorthy

Members of All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has alleged that self-help groups and micro-finance companies were pressurising poor women to pay interest on loans in these hard times of hard times of COVID-19 lockdown.

Speaking to the press at the Collectorate here on Monday, its district secretary-urban R. Sasikala said several women doing menial jobs had availed loans from micro-finance companies and SHGs. They were unable to pay any interest for the last four months as most have had no work or income. “The Reserve Bank of India has issued a directive that interest on loans need not be paid till August 31. Why target, harass and force women from poor socio-economic backgrounds to pay up when they are penniless,” she said.

Many women had lodged complaints with different police stations regarding this issue but there was no intervention from the district administration to sort out the issue. “The Collector must appoint a special officer to look into the matter and find out how many families have been targeted by these firms,” she said.

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