The authorities of the regional Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) branches, recently, have lodged a total of 540 certificate cases against farmers for unrealised loans. Many, for which, have fled their homes in five upazilas of the district.
According to BKB regional office sources, authorities of different branches have lodged the cases due to unrealised loans amounting to Tk22.1m. In Rajbari’s sadar upazila, BKB branches at Sreepur, Mulghar and Panchuria lodged a total of 331 cases against outstanding loans of approximately Tk16m.
In Baliakandi upazila, branches at Sonapur and Mrigi filed a total of 57 cases against loans amounting to Tk3.4m. In Goalondo upazila branch 70 cases were filed against outstanding loans of approximately Tk3m.
In Pangsha, the branches at Bagdulihat and Habashpur filed 82 cases against loans of approximately Tk5m.
The loans were taken by the farmers for agriculture work but they could not achieve their production target due to price hike of seeds, pesticides and fertilisers.
Talking with a marginal farmer on the issue, Kalu Biswas said: “I took Tk5,000 as loan from Sonapur branch of the bank which now stands at Tk13,500 including interest and has become difficult to repay.”
Another accused of certificate case, Mobarok Sheikh, said he took a loan of Tk3,000 which currently stands at Tk7,500 in five years.