Nupur Alankar
Many lives turned upside town, literally overnight, when the Punjab & Maharashtra Co-Operative (PMC) Bank collapsed recently. Among those affected is actress Nupur Alankar, who has been part of shows like ' Phulwa', ' Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo', and ' Swaragini'. Nupur has been borrowing money and even selling off jewellery, ever since her family's accounts in the bank have been frozen.
She tells us, "I am facing a major financial crisis. I had accounts in other banks, too, which I transferred to this bank a few years ago. Little did I know that my family members mother, sister, husband, sister-in-law and father-in-law and my life savings will be frozen like this. The Reserve Bank of India first curbed the withdrawal limit for account holders to '1,000 and later increased it to '10,000 and then '25,000 per person. But that amount can be withdrawn only once in six months. How am I expected to survive without money? Should I mortgage my house now? Why is there a cap on my own hard-earned money? I have been diligently paying income tax, so why am I suffering today? A circular was recently released that we can withdraw '50,000 to one lakh in case of children's education or medical emergency. A family member was critical, but we couldn't afford to hospitalise her. We have now hired a home nurse to tend to her. Besides, none of our credit or debit cards are working."
The actress has also sold off her silver and gold jewellery to meet daily expenses. "With no money at home and all our accounts frozen, I was left with no option, but to sell off my jewellery. I had to, in fact, borrow '3,000 from a fellow actor. Another one transferred '500 for my commute. So far, I have borrowed '50,000 from friends. There is no clarity when the problem will be resolved and we are scared that we will lose our money," she shares.
Nupur adds, "The worst part is, I am not even eligible for a loan anymore. The moment I say that my accounts were in PMC Bank, even the telecallers hang up."