Cooperative bank initiative: No-interest aid for cancer care

KOZHIKODE: With cancer patients and the price of treating them going up steadily, a cooperative bank functioning in the city has come up with a new scheme of interest-free cancer treatment loan. The Calicut City Service Co-Op bank Ltd has come up with the novel idea of giving financial aid to cancer patients.  It has also introduced a scheme where anyone can deposit a small amount, which can later be used for the treatment if required. On Thursday, the Malayalam University Vice Chancellor K. Jayakumar announced the interest-free cancer treatment and the city care deposit scheme at the Chalappuram branch of the bank.

The scheme has been launched by the bank in association with the recently inaugurated MVR Cancer Centre. “It is sad to note that cancer patients are increasing day by day”, said C.N. Vijayakrishnan, Chairman of the bank and also the MVR Cancer centre. At the same time, the cost of cancer treatment had increased to double or triple the price than it was some years ago. “Hence people with financially backward families were struggling to pay for cancer treatment, hence being part of a bank and also a cancer treatment centre, it is our responsibility to think of these people,” he added.

The interest-free loan and the city care deposit scheme would be a help to people with cancer and also without cancer to meet the requirement of the treatment. As per the deposit scheme, a new born to 60 year-old can be part of it, where they have to deposit an amount of not less than Rs 10,000, after which they can avail a treatment of '5 lakh through the cancer care hospital. "The bank has taken this bold step towards giving an interest-free loan at a time when the cooperative sector banks were blamed for storing unaccounted money," sources said. Malayalam University Vice Chancellor appreciated the efforts put in by the bank to develop such a scheme that has not been thought of by any national or other banks in the country.