A Special gesture by bank

[sajiv]

HAPPY MOMENT - K. Nageswara Rao and G. Sivakumari, visually challenged couple, receiving Indian Bank cheque for home loan amount from District Collector B. Venkatesham in Guntur on Wednesday.

GUNTUR: For the first time in Guntur district, a visually challenged couple has been sanctioned home loan by a bank. Indian Bank Guntur branch has taken a decision to provide loan to a couple where both are visually impaired, but have the intent and capability to repay.

Generally the repayment in majority of such cases are bad and banks do not dare to finance them so as to prevent landing those funds in NPAs, but the Indian Bank was inspired by the District Collector B. Venkatesham took a decision and released Rs.5 lakh to K. Nageswara Rao and G. Sivakumari.

Both of them are employed with the Government. Bank Chief Manager S.V. Radhakrishnan told The Hindu that they were also contemplating designing an application form and agreement form in Braille so that they would know what they were getting into . On Wednesday they were handed over the cheques for Rs.5 lakh by the District Collector.

Usually in cases where visually impaired have been given loans, at least one of the spouses was normal, but here both were visually impaired . While Nageswara Rao is a canner in Central Excise here, Sivakumari works as a clerk in the library of Government Women's Junior College. They had bought land close to Chilly Market Yard with their savings and were looking for funds to construct a small house, Mr. Radhakrishnan explained.