Bhubaneswar: A large number of people who deposited money with Sahara India staged a protest in front of the Odisha Assembly here Saturday. They demanded the intervention of the Odisha government intervene so that they can get back their investments with interest.
The protestors said that more than 20 lakh depositors in Odisha have invested approximately Rs 2,000 crore with Sahara India. Even though the maturity periods of the deposits are over, they are yet to get back their funds.
“We had deposited our hard-earned money under different schemes of the company. The maturity period of our deposit has ended. We have been waiting for the repayment from the company for a long time,” said a protestor. “Now, we are in urgent need of money, but the company is in no mood to return the amount to us. We are completely helpless,” a protestor added.
The protestors sought help from the BJD-led government. “We had voted the government to power to give us social and economic security. The company obtained license from the government to operate in the state. It’s the responsibility of the government to help people get their money back,” said Bijay Kumar Padhy, president of Sahara Depositors’ Forum.
“As the company has duped the depositors, the government should ban the company and seize its property to repay the deposits of people,” said Padhy.
