Now, banks harass wives of alcoholic debtors -ToI

Now, banks harass wives of alcoholic debtors TNN | Mar 18, 2013, 03.11 AM IST PANAJI: Wives of alcoholic husbands have to face the music when it comes to answering money lenders whom their husbands have availed loans from. Take these two case studies. Case 1: A mother of two, Rama, 30, juggles between four houses in Taleigao working as a maid while her husband who is employed as a security guard blows up all his money on drinking. He has no qualms even spending loan money his wife took to pay their son's medical bill. Case 2: Pratima is facing harassment from bank officials and sureties due to her alcoholic husband who is working in the education department in a clerical post. He has taken bank loans from three different banks amounting to over 2 lakh. Dangerous effects of cheap and easy accessibility to alcohol in the state are slowly coming to the fore. Sangath, a non-profit organization working for betterment of the community health, says 30 % of the population (15 lakh) have a drinking habit, of which 15 % drink at high risk levels. Among industrial workers, 21 % have drinking habits. Dr Abhijit Nadkarni of Sangath, who has initiated a project to study long-term impact of alcohol in the state, says the problem is indeed "grave." It is a "big problem" and Goa is ranked along with North Eastern states where the drinking habit has reached serious proportions. The project will study all aspects of alcohol-related problems along with overall impact on the society. "We are studying the physical and mental health of people with a drinking problem, social problems caused due to drinking habits, including domestic problems and unemployment among alcoholics ,"said Nadkarni, whose area of specialization is addiction. Gripped by the impact of the alcohol problem on the Goan society, Sangath has another research project with a focus to train lay people (graduates) to intervene and provide counseling to people addicted to alcohol. Bailancho Saad, a woman's organization, claims that majority of the cases of domestic violence are related to drinking habits among husbands. "Cases of husbands borrowing for gambling and drinking are on the rise," said Sabina Martins of Bailancho Saad. There are instances of a nexus among government servants with an alcohol problem. "Alcoholics who are government servant stand surety amongst themselves to take loans while wives are totally in the dark," claimed Martins. Bailancho Saad is in receipt of some complaints about wives having to face harassment from bank officials when alcoholic husbands default on payments. In one such case it had to approach Porvorim police station to stop bank officials from harassing the wife. In view of a rise in such cases, Bailancho Saad wants to approach the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to have regulations so that there is proper verification before a loan is sanctioned. "We have prepared the draft," said Martins, who says the drinking problem has reached dangerous proportions in the state and yet there is no intervention by the government. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Now-banks-harass-wives-of-alcoholic-debtors/articleshow/19027592.cms