Family, including lactating mother and 45-day-old infant, braces winter chill as bank seals house in Karnataka village

'We spent the entire night in the courtyard of the house and used fertiliser bag sheets as windshields, but that was of no help. Our seven-member family has been suffering due to the inhumane acts of the bank officials,' the farmer said.

Belagavi: A family of seven members from Nagnur village in Mudalagi taluk had to brave the winter chill outside their house during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday as the bank through which they had availed loan for dairy farming seized and sealed the house on Monday evening as they had defaulted three installments.

The family included a lactating mother and her 45-day-old infant.

Farmer Saidappa Shankrappa Gaddadi said on Tuesday that he had availed loans amounting to Rs 5 lakh from Equitas Small Finance Bank, Chikkodi for dairy farming and had repaid about Rs 3.16 lakh along with the interest. He could not pay the previous three installments as his daughter had come home for delivery. His daughter gave birth to an infant about one and a half months ago.

He said the bank had been forcing him to repay the loans and defaulted installments as a one-time settlement, but it was not possible and he had sought time for repayment. "I have been repaying Rs 14,390 per month and paid 27 installments, but the bank officials contend that they have not received any of them," he said.

"The bank personnel with the help of local police took possession of the house on Monday evening and ousted us," he said.

"We spent the entire night in the courtyard of the house and used fertiliser bag sheets as windshields, but that was of no help. Our seven-member family has been suffering due to the inhumane acts of the bank officials," he said.