VASCO: The Goa Barge Owners’ Association on Wednesday appealed the government to provide financial assistance to repay their loans or take over the same, which provide a huge relief to barge owners who facing financial crisis.
The association also urged the government to quickly pass the mining bill.
Association member Atul Jadhav said it was unfortunate for the mining dependents that the review petition of government has been rejected by the Supreme Court.
“Some barge owners still have outstanding loans from the nationalised and cooperative banks. Even after waiving off the interest (from 2012) and loans (principal amount) from the nationalised banks, the barge owners are unable to close the loan account due to lack of funds. The cooperative banks have only waived off the interest. We would request the govt to give us loans through the EDC so that the banks and the borrowers will be relieved from the pressure”, Jadhav said.
He said the barge owners could not even make 20 per cent of the normal yearly business.
The Association also requested the government to waive off the barge tax.
