Mumbai: 79-year-old has stroke after PMC Bank shocker

Bharat Mankermi with his wife and daughter

Shocked by the news of 'losing' his entire savings at the Punjab and Maharashtra co-operative bank 79-year-old Bharat Mankermi suffered a stroke last week. While he is now on the road to recovery, he is devastated at his loss of independence as he has to depend on his daughter for monetary help.

Mankermi has a fixed deposit worth Rs 30 lakh in the Santacruz West Branch of PMC bank that has been placed under directives by the Reserve Bank of India. "My dad was in a state of shock when the news broke, so I decided to take my parents out for a movie. It was sometime in the afternoon when my father's speech began slurring and he lost his balance.

We rushed him to Kokilaben Hospital where doctors told us that only 20 per cent of his heart was functioning owing to the stroke," said Madhvi Asher, Mankermi's daughter Mankermi, who is now home, said that his biggest worry is that he has to seek financial help from his daughter for medical expenses of Rs 1.5 lakh despite having the funds himself. The family has been promised compensation of Rs 60,000 by their insurance company.

"My wife Bhavana, 77, and I wound up our plastic factory around 20 years ago. Both of us believe in leading a simple and independent life and therefore did not consider any other form of investment. We decided to put all our savings in FDs at the bank closest to our home. Unfortunately, what we considered as the safest form of investment, has landed us in a situation where even paying utility bills has become cause for worry. Being dependent on our only daughter and son-in-law is not something we desire. It makes us uncomfortable," said Mankermi.

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