Micro Enterprises Situation Had Turned From Bad To Worst
Inability to bag new orders has put 20,000-odd micro enterprises in the district in trouble. Meltdown and power crisis are forcing them to the brink of a closure. To add to their problems, many private banks have allegedly started to torture them to repay the loans. Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises district president J James said the situation had turned from bad to worse with private banks threatening the entrepreneurs, using men for loan recovery.
The uncouth behaviour of the bank officials, who disturb the entrepreneurs even during odd hours, to settle the loans is nothing but rubbing salt to the wounds. This apart, they call the entrepreneurs over phone and use filthy language. As many as 300 members have complained of such harassment and indecent behaviour by bankmen, he said. He said the micro enterprises association office-bearers presented a petition to the Commissioner of Police on Saturday, seeking action against the private banks. Let the banks take the legal course for recovery of loans, he said. James said they had been compelled to approach the private banks for financial assistance, as the nationalised banks seldom granted loans to micro enterprises as they insisted for sureties. According to him, micro entrepreneurs were running the units as well as repaying the mounting debts obtained from private banks.
He said about 40 per cent of the two lakh-odd micro unit workers, majority of whom were from the southern districts of the State, had already chose other jobs like roadside eateries and bunk shops. And about 20 per cent of the workers from other states, mostly skilled labourers, had already deserted the micro units in search of other avenues, he said. James also urged the Union and State Governments to initiate steps on a war-footing to save the micro enterprises, which would have no other option but to down the shutters if the torture by the banks continued.
