Bankers asked to extend loans to flood-hit farmers liberally

District Collector K Vetri Selvi has appealed to the bankers to extend loans to the flood-affected farmers liberally and asked the insurance companies to settle personnel claims at the earliest.
Collector held a special DCC meeting with bankers on the credit facility for farmers and people who suffered due to floods in the district on Friday and reviewed the flood damage. Speaking on the occasion, Collector Vetriselvi said that heavy rains and floods for 15 days created disaster in the district and farmers have lost their standing crops and people in many mandals.
The havoc wrecked by incessant rains and floods in the district should be considered a ‘disaster’ and the bankers should take relief measures for the farmers and the people, the Collector told them.
The Collector said that due to heavy rains and floods, crops were badly damaged in Kaikalur, Kalidindi, Pedapadu, Eluru Rural, Mandavalli, Nuzvid, Musunur, Agiripalli, Kukkunur, Velerupadu and other mandals. She lamented that the worst affected were the paddy farmers, aquaculture farmers and horticultural farmers, deploring that cattle also died due to floods.
The Collector asked the bankers to reschedule farmers’ crop loans, taken from the banks, and provide benefits to farmers through ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’. In the settlement of insurance claims, the officials of insurance companies should take steps for immediate settlement of claims instead of making the farmers pillar to post to get their claims settled.
“The insurance claims related to the victims who have lost their houses and belongings should also be settled immediately and the loans of the victims should also be rescheduled by giving some moratorium time. The officials of the departments of agriculture and allied sectors should collect applications for crop insurance compensation and rescheduling of loans from the farmers whose crops have been damaged,” the Collector told the bank and insurance officials.
Union Bank Regional Head N Srinivas, DRDA PD R Vijayraju, Animal Husbandry JD Dr G Nehru Babu and Horticulture DD K Rammohan were among those who attended the meeting.