Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes K. Radhakrishnan on Thursday said the property attachment notice served on the family of K.G. Prasad, the paddy farmer from Kuttanad in Alappuzha who ended his life two months ago due to financial issues, had been frozen.
The Kerala State Development Corporation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on January 6 issued a notice to Omana, the deceased farmer’s wife, asking to pay ₹17,600 in five days towards a ₹60,000-loan taken by her in August 2022 to avoid the attachment of the family property. After paying ₹15,000 in monthly instalments, the family began defaulting on repayment around mid-2023.
In a statement issued here, Mr. Radhakrishnan said he had sought a report from the corporation. He said the authorities served the notice without understanding the family’s circumstances. He also directed the authorities to settle the loan by giving maximum concession.
Meanwhile, Adheena Prasad, the farmer’s daughter, said a man from Mumbai handed over ₹17,600 to the family to pay the loan dues.
Prasad, who had been growing paddy for 25 years for a living, ended his life on November 11. Banks had allegedly denied him a loan citing a low CIBIL score. In a note left behind by him, he accused the Kerala government and three banks of pushing him to take the extreme step. He was the district president of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, a Sangh Parivar organisation.
