SANGHAR, Oct 8: Hundreds of farmers from different parts of the district took out a procession here on Wednesday to protest against the Zarai Taraqiyati Bank officials.

They were protesting against the forcible way of loan recovery and alleged corruption of the ZTB staff of the district.

Speaking on the occasion, Haji Ayub Wassan alleged that the bank officials demanded bribes for sanctioning loans, ranging between 10 and 20 per cent of loan amount.

In many cases, he alleged, the sanction letter was not provided to farmers, the mobile credit officers (MCOs) gave the growers cash which frequently was less than the actual amount of sanctioned loan and farmers came to know about it when they received a recovery letter.

Mohammad Khan Chandio said that feudal lords who had taken millions of rupees from the ZTB were not being asked to return their loans but the small farmers were being haunted by the bank officials accompanied by the police like criminals.

The small farmers, he added, were dragged out of buses and pickups while travelling and humiliated.

In some cases, the defaulting farmers were put behind bars and land sale/lease agreements on throwaway prices were made on the instigation of the landlords of their area.

He alleged that the MCOs, the bank managers and regional manager had acquired properties and bank balances worth millions of rupees and demanded an investigations against them by the National Accountability Bureau.

Later, the protesting farmers met with District Naib Nazim Dr Mahmood Ahmed Rajput who was presiding over the district council session.

During the meeting, a six-member committee was formed which will hear the grievances of the farmers and see documentary proof at the district council hall on Thursday.

A representative of the bank told the district council session that about Rs993 million was outstanding against the growers in the district and the bank head office had ordered its district branch to recover the amount in any way.