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| Govt's self employment scheme leaves Soibugh youth helpless | | | Shakeel A Khan
BUDGAM, May 1: The government sponsored scheme to encourage self employment has landed many youth into trouble in the Soibugh area of this central Kashmir district. The affected youth are crying for help as they feel scared about their future.
The government had started a scheme in 2009 for the unemployed youth to start their self employment units. Many a youth availed the loan facility from the Soibugh branch of State bank of India to realize their dreams. But their business suffered initially on account of the disturbances during year of 2010.
This branch kept the certificates and other valuable documents as mortgage against the loan amount which was disbursed to them. These youth were supposed to clear the loan amount in the monthly installments as per the agreement.
In the meantime these youth crossed the upper age limit. As the bank had the knowledge about this, it began to exploit these youth and began to use pressure tactics to liquidate the loan amount, that too in a single installment.
"There was bad luck in store for we people as we failed to find the government job. This government sponsored scheme came to our way as the soul igniting moment. We were over the moon as seemingly our problems had been addressed," said Syed Showkat, who runs a Photostat shop the main stop in Soibugh.
Showkat went on saying that little did he knew that he will be kicked in the abdomen since the bank exerted pressure on him to pay the loan amount in a single effort. The manager of this branch has taken the matter to the court turning all this into a nightmare for Showkat.
Like Showkat the other youth are very much worried about their future and they find themselves in a state of depression as things are not going the right way for them.
Another victim, Mohammad Ashraf while sharing his concerns with Early Times said, "I have invested whole of the loan amount in the shawl business. Besides carrying on this business I also have the other liabilities in terms of family members as they are dependent on me. I cannot pay the bank loan in a single installment."
Ghulam Ahmad Reshi, who also has started the shawl business under this government sponsored scheme, supported the ideas of Showkat and Ashraf. He too was quite cynical about his own future given the developments taking place recently.
"We are not just three people, in fact we represent a larger group whose sufferings are same. We make fervent appeal to the higher ups in the government to come to our rescue and save our future from being spoiled," said Ashraf.
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