Krushi Bank closure: Depositors wait with a prayer on their lips

By Marri Ramu

HYDERABAD, AUG. 16. His dreams lie shattered and the future appears totally dark. He is worried and he is weeping. Not because he is concerned about his own future but that of his family of three kids.

Mohd. Akram is one of the hundreds of the depositors of Krushi Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd who found his dreams collapsing with the bank closing down its operations on Saturday last. Like many others, the 45-year-old Akram was lured to the bank on the promise of higher interest rates. He had deposited not Rs. 1 lakh or Rs. 2 lakhs but Rs. 19 lakhs. This money was deposited in the name of three school-going children -- Masood (seventh class), Mahmood (fourth class) and Amia (third class) -- for a period of 10 years.

This was the money Akram had earned in his two decades of employment as engineer in Dubai. "I had stayed away from my family for a long time and sweated it out for a better future for my children. Suddenly, everything has come crashing down. How will I show my face to them now", Akram wonders, sobbing.

Akram returned to the country last year after the death of his wife which in itself was a shock. There was more to it. She was stabbed to death in the house by one of their relatives for money. Barely, he could recover from the traumatic experience when the Krushi Bank closure came as a bombshell, compounding his miseries.

Vidya Rao, another depositor, has a different story to tell. Her husband deposited Rs. 7.5 lakhs in the bank in May this year. Last month, her husband passed away and she was stunned to read in newspapers that the bank closed its shutters. A resident of Patancheru, Vidya Rao bemoans: "Utter confusion is prevailing here. There is nobody to tell us what exactly has happened and guide us what to do. Neither the police are giving any information nor has the RBI come out with any clarification to the depositors who have been duped".

Mr. B. Chandrashekhar of Himayatnagar, a retired officer of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, is another victim. He had deposited Rs. 1 lakh for a period of one year. He could perhaps be lucky as those having deposits of Rs. 1 lakh and below are insured. Then again, it depends if the premium would be paid on time.

He directs his ire at the Government. "This is the result of Government's callous attitude. When hundreds of depositors are thronging to the bank in despair and confusion, why can't the Government come up with some explanation?" he asks.

There are also several others who had deposited small amounts in thousands - all hard earned and deposited in the bank. Ghanshyamdas of Ranigunj is one of them having deposited Rs. 30,000. "For me, it is a huge amount. I am at the crossroads as of now", a dejected Ghanshyamdas observed.

Even as the Reserve Bank of India has directed the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Andhra Pradesh, to take over the management of the bank, aggrieved depositors are still loitering near the bank building in Ranigunj from dawn to dusk with a prayer on their lips and hope in their hearts. They are wishing for a miracle to happen which would bring back their deposits and smile too.

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Section  : Southern States
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