14 families thrown out of houses for not clearing debt

Guntur: Members of 14 families belonging to the Vaddera community at Santagudipadu village of Rompicherla mandal in the district were thrown out of their houses along with their belongings and their houses were locked up for not clearing loans. Members of the Vaddera community set up a Fund to give loans to the needy at an interest of Rs 3.

However, as 14 families of Vadderas who borrowed the money failed to return even after the expiry period, the angry elders of the community decided to throw them out of their houses. Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, Subbamma, who has lent money, said that 14 persons were given loans worth Rs 30 lakh but they failed to return the amount. She said that she would not return the keys of their houses unless they repaid the loans. The victims who borrowed the money alleged that the lenders forcibly got them evicted from their houses though they assured them that the money would be returned soon. They said that they borrowed only Rs 2 lakh but the lenders were giving inflated and misleading figures running into several lakhs quoting interest rates. They said that they were ready to pay some amount right now but the lenders were forcing them to pay the entire amount. Meanwhile, the civil societies demanded stringent action against the money-lenders as they were harassing members of their own community demanding exorbitant rates of interest.