74-year-old Thane man becomes 8th victim of PMC Bank crisis
Mumbai: Another depositor of the troubled cooperative lender PMC Bank has died allegedly due to an inability to take care of his medical bills, his family members said on Monday.
The 74-year-old Andrew Lobo died at his home at Kasheli in the neighbouring Thane late Thursday evening, his grandnephew Chris told PTI.
Lobo is the eighth PMC depositor to have reportedly died after the bank was placed under an RBI administrator with withdrawal caps. There was a case of suicide of a depositor as well at the bank since September 23 when the RBI suspended the bank management.
Chris said Lobo had over Rs 26 lakh in his accounts with the bank and used to depend on the interest for his day- to-day needs.
"Two months ago, he developed a lung infection which needed regular medicines and visits to the doctor. His money was stuck in the bank, and we also have our accounts with PMC, due to which none of us could take care of his medical requirements," Chris said.
Lobo had a business of fabrication in suburban Mulund till he discontinued it a few years ago, the grand nephew said, adding his accounts were with the Mulund branch.
The RBI has put an administrator on the bank and claims that 77 percent of the 16 lakh depositors can fully withdraw their money with the limits having being raised to Rs 40,000 per account.
The city police has pegged the overall size of the financial scam at the bank at Rs 4,355 crore and has arrested five people in connection of the case.
According to investigators, the bank management colluded with realty developer HDIL in such a way that loans were made to the company despite non-payments through specially created dummy accounts. These transactions were also allegedly hidden from the central bank's audit.
As a result, over 6,500 crore of the bank's overall advances of Rs 9,000 crore have turned sour.
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Private bus operators in Karnataka to hike fares by 20-30 pc after fuel price rise
Bengaluru (PTI): In the wake of the hike in fuel prices, private bus operators have decided to increase fares by 20-30 per cent, depending on the route, effective from Friday midnight.
They have also called for government subsidies, a reduction in cess, and lower road taxes to improve the situation.
"The situation for bus owners in the state is already distressing due to high road tax and the impact of the Shakti scheme (free bus travel for women in government buses). On top of this, fuel prices have increased," Karnataka State Bus Owners’ Association President S Nataraj Sharma said.
"This will impose a burden of Rs 15,000 per vehicle per month on bus owners. If an owner has three buses, the burden will be Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 per month," he added.
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Speaking to reporters, he said the situation has made it inevitable for owners to increase fares by 20-30 per cent, depending on the route, under current conditions.
The increase may be roughly Rs 200 per seat, he added.
"For example, the current bus fare from Bengaluru to Belagavi is around Rs 1,000–Rs 1,200, which is likely to rise to Rs 1,350–Rs 1,400. Similarly, fares from Bengaluru to Mangaluru or Udupi currently range from Rs 900–Rs 1,000 and are expected to go up to Rs 1,100–Rs 1,200," he said.
Petrol and diesel prices were each hiked by Rs 3 per litre on Friday, the first rate increase in more than four years, amid mounting losses for fuel retailers due to surging global crude prices in the wake of the West Asia conflict.
The increase comes a couple of weeks after the Assembly elections concluded in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry.
