Team Herald
VASCO: While raising an alarm, the members of Goa Barge Owners’ Association (GBOA) on Monday appealed to the State government to come to their rescue with the claims that one of the nationalised banks has been using pressure tactics against the barge owners who are borrowers due to which one of their members Laxmikant Kolamker succumbed to the pressure.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the president of GBOA Atul Jadhav along with GBOA members, including Kishore Tolani, Amit Kolamker and Rupesh Shivlingkar, Jadhav claimed that the members of GBOA who are borrowers of the bank are being pressured and are facing mental torture due to the drastic adverse coercive steps taken by bank which has been exhibiting discriminatory conduct by acting in an arbitrary manner.
“The bank has been exhibiting discriminatory conduct while dealing with the borrowers from the barge industry. Like in the case of SK Shipping and Amonkar Shipping the Bank has given a waiver of more than 50% of rebate and exempted recovery of the money. However, in a similar case of Ivory Shipping where this firm repaid the instalment up to the year 2012, still the bank started putting pressure to sell off the barge with a threat of attaching their residential houses and sell them in a public auction. Due to this pressure, one of the partners of the said firm, namely Laxmikant Kolamker succumbed four days ago after which we all are all panicky,” Jadhav said.
He further added that the said firm had even deposited all the money which they had got from sale of the barge and also offered to pay little more but in spite of such sincerity shown by them, the bank turned down the offer and has now put their houses for e-auction sale which would take place on August 22 2016. “Similar to Ivory Shipping, even M/s Srividha Marine has been facing trouble as the same bank did not issued any offer of one time settlement scheme of government of Goa but proceeded to attach his house and put the house for e-auction sale and thereby flouted the principle of natural justice and doing discrimination between the likely placed barge owners” he alleged.
