Rahul Gandhi urges RBI to extend moratorium on Kerala farm loans

Rahul Gandhi interacts with the people of Wayanad, Kerala during his visit to the flood-hit regions of Kerala. Pic/Twitter Rahul Gandhi

On Wednesday, Former Congress chief and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi urged Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das for an extension of the moratorium on the repayment of crop loans in Kerala in the wake of the floods in the state.

Gandhi who has been camping in his Wayanad constituency since Sunday wrote a letter to the RBI governor and requested the Shaktikanta Das to take measures to extend the moratorium on repayment (of crop loans) to December 2019.

The Congress leader said that the state-level bankers' committee has refused to consider the demand of the state government and the opposition parties to extend the moratorium on repayment of loans to December 31, 2019. Giving the reference of the 2018 Kerala flash floods, Gandhi said that the state has been once again hit by fresh floods this year, which have not only displaced life and property but also destroyed crops as well as other productive assets of farmers.

Also Read: Kerala floods: State government to give Rs 10,000 each to flood-affected family

Gandhi also said that external factors such as the sharp fall in global commodity prices of cash crops have also adversely affected the farmer's capabilities. In his letter, Rahul Gandhi also spoke about the sudden rise in the number of suicide by farmers in Kerala after banks intensified recovery proceedings against them under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act).

Due to floods in the state, the death toll has risen to 95 while 1.89 lakh people are still taking refuge in 1,118 relief camps across the state. While continuous rain since the beginning of August has marred the state, landslides have also been identified as the main reason for the widespread of the damage in Kerala.

Gandhi, who has been touring his flood-hit parliamentary constituency Wayanad in Kerala, took to social networking site Facebook and appealed to people to donate for Kerala flood victims.

Also Read: Kerala rains: Toll climbs to 88, 40 still missing

On Wednesday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced immediate assistance of Rs 10,000 to each affected family in Kerala floods. After the weekly cabinet meeting, Vijayan said that the damage caused due to floods this year is much less compared to the flash floods which Kerala faced in 2018.

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