Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday called on all banks to write off the loans owed by victims of the recent landslides in Wayanad since most of them have lost their homes, vehicles and even livestock for which they had borrowed money.

Vijayan’s remarks came after Kerala Gramin Bank automatically deducted pending loan EMIs from the interim relief paid by the state government to the landslide-affected people, many of whom live in relief camps now.

The bank has deducted the loan dues from the interim compensation over the last few days, sparking a massive protest outside the bank in Kalpetta on Monday.

The bank has returned the deducted amount to a few borrowers but the protesters demanded the full list of accounts from which it docked loan EMIs.

Vijayan, while addressing the State Level Bankers’ Committee, requested all the banks to write off loans due from landslide victims who have lost everything. He urged the banks to follow the model set by Kerala Bank, the state’s conglomerate of cooperative banks.

“The Kerala State Cooperative Bank has already set an example on this (by writing off loans). They decided to write off the loans on their own and not because anyone demanded it,” Vijayan said.