Imphal, July 8 (IANS) In view of over two-month long ethnic violence in Manipur, banks would provide relief measures by way of rescheduling the existing loans. Accordingly, banks have been instructed to extend the moratorium period up to 12 months, officials said here on Saturday.
Manipur Institutional Finance Department Director Anna Arambam said that a Special State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting recently decided that banks would provide relief measures by way of rescheduling of existing loans and sanctioning of fresh loans as per the emerging requirements of all loan borrowers in agricultural, MSME and other retail loans.
He said that banks have been instructed to extend the moratorium period up to 12 months from the date of implementation of the rehabilitation, restructuring measures and for retail loans under P-segment (Personal/Pension/Vehicle/Housing loans etc), EMI repayment may be deferred by 12 months.
Those borrowers, whose repayment capacity has been severely affected due to disruption of economic activities and loss/damage of economic assets, including agriculture and allied activities may contact the concerned banks for availing the moratorium and other rehabilitation and restructuring measures, the official said.
The Manipur government has recently issued a notification saying that relief measures may be taken up under RBI's (Relief Measures by Banks in Areas Affected by Natural Calamities) Directions, 2018.
Arambam said that opening of bank branches was also reviewed by Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi.
Out of a total of 241 bank branches in Manipur, 218 have been opened as on July 6.
Efforts are being made to reopen the remaining 23 branches at the earliest.
Out of 396 ATMs, 320 are functioning. Banks were requested to make all-out efforts to ensure that the remaining 70 ATMs are also made functional.
The government has conveyed its readiness to extend all possible assistance to the banks, the official said.
Manipur: 1 killed, 4 injured by armed miscreants in two separate incidents
Imphal, July 8 (IANS) Armed miscreants on Saturday gunned down a police personnel and injured four others in Manipur's Bishnupur district, in two separate incidents, an official said.
An official said that armed miscreants fired bullets in Phougakchao Awang Leikai village, injuring two police personnel and one civilian.
One of the police personnel later succumbed to his injuries.
A search operation was launched immediately and the miscreants were repelled.
In another incident, a villager was shot at in Phubala when the farmers were working in their paddy fields.
The Border Security Force personnel deployed in the area retaliated, and the armed miscreants fled from there.
One Waris Khan, 18, was also injured when armed miscreants threw a mortar at Kwakta Ward No 8 in Bishnupur district.
The official said that 33 more illegal bunkers, set up by the miscreants and militants were destroyed in Kangpokpi and Bishnupur districts by a combined team of Manipur Police and Central security forces in the last 24 hours.
With this, 83 illegal bunkers have been bulldozed by the security forces in the past two days.
