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By Channa Kasturisinghe

There is always the Government or a non-government organisation to compensate and look after victims of drought, flood or political violence but there is no one for us. This was the remark of an unfortunate depositor of Pramuka Savings and Development Bank, which was renowned for better returns since 1999 up to last September before the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) took an abrupt decision to suspend its operations.

About five months have passed since the depositors' of Pramuka heard the shocking news but they are still unaware of the fate of their hard earned money which is said to be over Rs. 3.2 billion.

In order to apprise the authorities of their plight the Pramuka Banks Depositors Association yesterday held an agitation campaign opposite the building where the Pramuka had been operating. Among the hundreds of agitators were 45 year-old B. A. Jayanthi, a mother of three children who had deposited her late husband's insurance money in the bank and lived on the interest.

"Now there are no means of living for me and my three children. We read in papers that certain parties were accusing each other over the failure of the bank. We do not understand who is responsible but I am certain it was not my fault. I invested in a bank, which was certified as a legitimate body," she said. Asoka Athukorala, a 39 year-old businessman from Galle said he first opened a savings account in the Bank in his child's name about one year ago.

"There was no sign at all that the Bank was performing badly. In fact I later opened a fixed deposit investing a huge sum of money. However, to be on the safe side I inquired from the CBSL Supervision Division about the legitimacy of the bank. One official told me that there was nothing to worry and the name of the bank was even in a list of reliable banks published in the newspapers in mid September. And everyone knows what happened the following month," Athukorala said.

Wasantha Mudannayake is a father of three children from Kandy. He opened a fixed deposit in the Pramuka Bank using the money he received from the Employees Provident Fund after some thirty years of work at a private sector company. "In addition to my family I had to look after my wife's mother and her sick brother with the interest I earned from my fixed deposit. I was planning to use a part of that money for my daughter's wedding. Now I do not know how do these things," Mudannayake said.

S.G Abeygunasekara, a 40-year old father of three children from Padukka said an urgent repair of his house is being held up as he is unable to withdraw money from his account.

Forty-seven year-old Sri Lal Wijesekara from Dalugama said he deposited money days before the Central Bank announced the suspension of the Bank late last year."What we want is either for the bank to resume operations or be compensated adequately," he said.

W.A. Fernando, a 37-year old mother of two children from Aturugiriya said she and her husband invested over one million rupees after returning from abroad in 1999.

"My husband is 45 years old and he is unable to find employment abroad. We are in a very difficult position since the bank was suspended, she said.

Fernando said she and her husband were surprised to hear the news as Pramuka seemed to be a financially viable bank with an efficient staff.

T.D.S Fernando, a 39-year old mother from Moratuwa said she also deposited the money she earned after so many years of work abroad and now she is unable to find money to buy her ticket to go abroad again.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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