In a unique protest, municipal staff dumped piles of garbage outside multiple banks for refusing to grant loans under a government scheme in Vuyyuruand Machilipatnam towns of Krishna district and in Vijayawada city in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday.
The garbage was dumped outside Andhra Bank, Union Bank of India, State Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, Canera Bank on Thursday morning. The disgruntled staff alleged that the banks were reluctant to grant small loans under 'Jagananna Thodu' and 'Jagananna Cheyutha' schemes.
The shocking act of protest was carried out on the instructions of Vuyyuru Municipality Commissioner Prakasa Rao, accoriding to local media reports.
Rao reportedly said that the banks were not responding to appeals of the officials to grant loans to beneficiaries under several government programmes and added that he wanted to register protest against the attitude of staff of the banks, according to Hans India.
The garbage dumps were removed later in the day, the municipal commissioner said, according to India Today. Meanwhile, bank employees expressed shock and comdemned the incident.
Launched by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in November this year, Jagananna Thodu scheme aims at proving help to small and petty vendors to restart their business in wake of financial troubles caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
Under this scheme, interest-free loans up to Rs 10,000 will provided to small and petty vendors. "The scheme will bring a change in the lives of small and petty vendors, as the government is relieving them from paying heavy interest," the CM had said after lauching this scheme.
Jagananna Cheyutha scheme was launched in August and provides Rs 18,750 per year for four years to women of SC, ST, backward and minority communities in the age group of 45-60 years.
