Coastal rural indebtedness - a case study

The fisherman of our coastal villages borrows year after year and is heavily indebted. But he is not in a position to clear off the debts either because the loans are larger or his income is not enough to pay off his debts. Sometimes his income may not be sufficient to cover up even the interest he has to pay. Therefore the debt of the fisherman goes on increasing. Poverty is a cause and also an effect of indebtedness This may be termed as coastal rural indebtedness. The specific objective of the present study is to find out the extent of indebtedness of fishermen in Vizhinjam and also to examine the credit system prevailing in this area.. Measures should be devised for cancelling the old debts, fixing installments for repayment of outstanding loans at a reduced interest rate and to control fresh borrowing