Joshy Karuvannur, a building contractor, who had a deposit of nearly ₹90 lakh in Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank, staged a solo walk from Karuvannur to Thrissur on Wednesday in protest against the restrictions in withdrawing the deposit.
The protest was also against the rude behaviour of the bank officials towards the depositors, he said.
According to Joshy, who is suffering from various diseases, he and his family have a deposit of around ₹90 lakh in the bank.
“I represent hundreds of people whose life savings got blocked in the bank. I had to undergo 21 major and minor surgeries in the past few years after I met with an accident. I am also undergoing treatment for a tumour growth for the past one year. I approached the bank many times to get money for my surgeries. Then I had to avail myself of loans from other financial firms. I am trying to sell my house to pay the loans,” he said.
Congress leaders, including T.N. Prathapan and Anil Akkara, visited him before he started the solo walk.
Mr. Joshy had earlier staged a hunger strike in front of his house on the Onam day this year raising the same issue.
Meanwhile, the Karuvannur bank has started distributing deposits partially on Wednesday.
