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80 bank branches damaged in Kutch region

As many as 45 branches of various commercial banks were severely damaged and 35 more were partially affected by the killer earthquake on January 26 in Kutch region of Gujarat.

"Adequate security has been provided to guard the currency chests of the affected branches," Dena Bank chairman and managing director A G Joshi said in Bombay on his return from a tour of the quake affected region.

Scheduled banks have 169 branches in Kutch region with a deposit base of Rs 35.09 billion and advances of Rs 3.83 billion," he said.

"Most deposits are from non-resident Indians. The credit deposit ratio is close to 10," he said.

Banks have begun operations from makeshift places at some branches, he said, adding that "non-availability of records will not pose much of a problem for providing services. Records are there which are yet to be retrieved from the debris".

Joshi said he had met Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan and deputy governor S P Talwar to apprise them of the situation and discussed the 'relief package', including issuing fresh loans and retrieval of branch records.

According to Joshi, each bank would have to evolve guidelines to deal with their respective customers in the absence of necessary records.

"Banks may reschedule existing loans with a two-year repayment holiday for interest and principal instalments, while fresh loans are also likely to be considered at concessional rates," he added.

The Complete Coverage | List of earthquake sites

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