PANJIM: The barge owners in the State are under tremendous pressure with banks now having commenced the process of declaring barge owners as wilful defaulters and taking the appropriate measures to recover their loans. They are expected to attach their houses and other physical property to recover their dues. This action by banks have commenced from June 26th. Atul Jadhav, President of the Goa Barge Owners Association revealed this during the course of his conversation with the Herald.
He said the barge owners had expressed their fears during the course of their interactions with him. The association, he said, had given a letter to the CM requesting him to help them. Jadhav also revealed that a couple of banks like IDBI, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and L & T finance company had not unveiled their special scheme meant for defaulters from the barge industry in the State. The total NPA is approximately Rs 275 crore, which is posing a heavy burden on the local banks in the State. Cooperative banks had declined to participate in the scheme.
Hopes have been rekindled lately with the Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar stating that restricted mining would resume in October. He was speaking at the 107th AGM of the GCCI. When Jadhav was asked if adequate number of barges were available to ensure that business could commence in October, he said, “Yes there are barges available. Barge owners have 60 large barges of 2000 tonnes each, 35 small barges of 700 to 1000 tonnes plus the exporters who have 50 barges of 2000 tonnes each”. He said the number was good enough for the amount of raw material that would be mined in the near future.
Jadhav hoped the Central government would seriously think about the problem given and he hoped the state government would do the same.
