Elderly woman left homeless as microfinance firm seizes her house

Davanagere: An elderly woman and her family have allegedly been rendered homeless after a private microfinance company took possession of their house over pending loan instalments at Marenahalli village in Jagalur taluk.

The incident has raised fresh concerns over recovery practices despite the state government’s measures to prevent harassment by microfinance lenders.

Gowramma, who lives with her children, belongs to a poor family dependent on daily wage work. A seizure notice was reportedly pasted on the house, following which the family was forced to stay outside. Gowramma and her mother have allegedly been sitting in front of the locked house for nearly 15 days.

Gowramma claimed that she was persuaded to borrow Rs 6.80 lakh after microfinance employees promised a lower interest rate and said the money would support her children’s business. She alleged that she had not wanted the loan but agreed following repeated assurances from the staff, who were allegedly motivated by commission.

She said the family had regularly paid instalments for three years and three months without missing a single payment. To meet the repayment burden, her two children were sent to work in other households, while she continued doing daily wage labour.

However, her deteriorating health in recent months left her unable to work, affecting her ability to pay the instalments. She alleged that even after pleading with the employees and seeking additional time to repay, they did not relent. The house was subsequently locked after a court order was obtained, she said.

Farmer leader Kumar condemned the alleged action and accused the company of extending loans without properly assessing the family’s repayment capacity. He demanded that the district administration and police take action against those responsible and ensure that Gowramma is allowed to return home.

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