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Banks are often ruthless when it comes to loan defaulters.  However, here is a heart-warming story of a bank extending a helping hand to a defaulter to rebuild his broken life.

When senior bank officials from the State Bank of India (SBI) reached the house of Sasi Panalil, a native of Kozhikode in Kerala, to serve a confiscation notice, they were shocked to see the plight of the hapless account holder. The house was in shambles. It was hard to believe that Sasi lived here with his incapacitated mother.

It was in February 2021, that M Murahari, chief manager of SBI Koyilandy’s SME branch, visited Sasi’s house to serve a notice.

“It was heart wrenching to see Sasi’s ailing old mother. I could barely look at her grief-stricken eyes and talk about the loan default. I got the shock of my life seeing the dilapidated house. I could see the sky from inside. The house was a bare structure with no kitchen or even a toilet. It didn’t have proper doors or windows.  At that moment, I felt I must do everything possible to help her,” M Murahari told Indianbankingnews.com.

After meeting Sasi’s ailing mother, a mentally disturbed Murahari went to meet Sasi who was at his wayside cart, selling household items. There was no way the bank could serve him a notice.

“I found out that Sasi’s daily income was meagre. He was totally helpless. After he suffered a stroke, he could barely walk and it was very difficult to run the house. After seeing their pitiable condition, I along with my colleagues decided to raise funds to rebuild his house,” Murahari said.

Sasi, who hails from a poor family, was working as a labourer. After his father passed away and mother too suffered a paralytic stroke, he struggled to meet the mounting household and medical expenses.

He then borrowed Rs 50,000 from SBI in 2005 to start a small-scale bag manufacturing unit. However, the unit could not function as he expected and finally had to shut shop. Without a fixed income, it was difficult for Sasi to pay off the loan amount.

“The loan defaulter tag was always in my mind. But it was not deliberate as there was no way I could make ends meet. With my mother paralysed, I was under more pressure,” Sasi told Indianbankingnews.com.

By 2021, the loan amount increased to Rs 70,000. So, the bank took up his case in the loan adalat, where his dues were written off as a one-time settlement. The balance outstanding amount of Rs 5,000 was again paid by the bank employees.

Sasi suffered a paralytic stroke four years ago, further destabilising his life. After months of physiotherapy, helped by the government’s palliative care, Sasi started walking again with support. The gram panchayat and Abhayam Charitable Trust helped him start a wayside stall three years ago.

It takes about half an hour for him to walk till his stall. Since he cannot walk the distance at a stretch, he stops by at several places before he reaches the stall. Some days, he is lucky to be dropped by some passersby in their two-wheeler. He starts the day at 9 am and winds up by 6 pm getting meagre earnings. Sasi’s daily collection from the stall is just around Rs 250-350. “Out of this, you can imagine what will be my earning. I hardly make any profit. My mother’s old age pension is the only other source of income,” Sasi says.

Sasi’s struggles have been unending. “I have tried doing several jobs. I even went abroad but that only left me with more debt. With prices rising every day, it is extremely difficult to live these days,” Sasi says.

The Covid pandemic further pushed Sasi’s life to the brink as the stall had to be shut due to the lockdown. “My mother and I survived thanks to the government’s free ration,” he says.

Though Sasi was freed from the debt trap, the images of the dilapidated house continued to give sleepless nights to Murahari.

A few days later, Murahari again met Sasi and his mother. When asked how she manages without a toilet, the lady broke down. “I wait till it is dark. I go to the fields,” she mutters.

Murahari discussed with his colleagues to figure out a way to help Sasi renovate his house. All the eight employees agreed to contribute from their savings.  Murahari’s civil contractor friend, Anil Kumar, offered to help by taking just the labour charges. He also donated two windows for the house. They decided to build a concrete roof, a kitchen and toilet.

The initial estimate to rebuild the house was Rs 1 lakh. However, this escalated to Rs 1.55 lakh.

“I can’t even explain the pathetic condition of my house. During the rains, my house used to get flooded. We didn’t have even the basic facilities,” Sasi said.

For the mother-son duo, Murahari’s visit was like a divine intervention.

The construction work began on August 14, 2021, a day before Independence Day, bringing freedom from years of neglect and distress for Sasi and his mother.

As the title deed of the land was in Sasi’s grandfather’s name and it was missing, local government authorities could not extend any help to renovate his house. The Chemanchery Gram Panchayat president and ward member were present when the construction work started.

Besides raising funds, SBI employees helped in transporting construction materials to the site after office hours. The eight SBI employees pooled in an amount of Rs 1.55 lakh to rebuild Sasi’s home, with the maximum contribution from Murahari. 

“SBI employees were extremely helpful after they saw my plight. They even carried construction materials to my house. I am grateful that they waived off my loan and built my house too. This is a noble initiative by Murahari sir and bank employees,” says a relieved Sasi, who had never imagined that he would get out of the debt trap.

Even as 55-year-old Sasi continues an uphill struggle to make ends meet, the renovated house gives him and his mother the much-needed comfort and access to basic facilities.

“It must be such a rare and unique gesture by a bank officer, who went out of his official duty to help us,” Sasi says.