CA asks NGOs to go soft on Sidr survivors

Dhaka, Dec 4 (bdprem.com) - Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed Tuesday asked NGOs to be sympathetic in taking loan repayments from their clients in Sidr-ravaged areas, a government spokesman said. Your Ad Here Fakhruddin held a meeting with the representatives of NGOs at the Chief Adviser's Office and asked them to make a clear announcement about microcredit repayments. "If nothing else, please be sympathetic at least to those without means of income," Syed Fahim Munaim quoted Fakhruddin as saying. The CA's press secretary briefed reporters on the outcome of the meeting that came amid wide allegations of NGOs mounting pressure on their clients for repayments. Grameen Bank had earlier made an announcement that it would not take back loans from their clients until June 2008. "So there is no scope for confusion," Munaim quoted the CA as saying. The government planned phased assistance to rehabilitate the Sidr survivors. In the first phase, the affected people will be given "instant help". Assistance will be given for house construction and economic activities in the second phase. In the third, the Sidr survivors will receive loans for permanent rehabilitation.