When debtors heaved a sigh of relief

KOCHI: Shanthan was delighted as he walked out of the Ernakulam Town Hall where he had gone to present his case before the Fishermen Debt Relief Commission on Tuesday morning.

He was almost convinced that the commission would take a favourable decision on his plea to write off the remaining of the Rs. 1.25-lakh loan he had taken three years ago. The loan, along with the interest was to be repaid in 100 instalments. He could repay only Rs. 10,000 and that too towards interest before the option of getting the debt written off opened up before him.

But not everyone was as optimistic as Mr. Shanthan after their meeting with the commission. Radhakrishnan, hailing from Pattanam, had taken a loan of Rs. 1.50 lakh in 2007 from the Parur-Vadakekkara Service Cooperative Bank Limited for his daughters marriage. He claims that he had never defaulted on the instalments. �So, doesnt that make me eligible for a write off of whatever is remaining of my loan? he asked.