URBAN POOR

Poor in Bengaluru trapped in the vicious circle of money-lending are unable to get bank loans. Structurally the poor are designed to be left out of the banking system, as banks cannot determine either their ability or intent to repay loans.

While most of us don’t understand why poorest of the poor in the society remain so for decades, here is a reality check that reveals the darker side of the story: an atrocious circle of borrowing, spending and borrowing again, to make ends meet, and remaining poor forever.

City elections will have to be held soon. But the plight of Bengaluru’s urban poor appears to be at a standstill. Will things change for them? Citizen Matters asked politicians and NGOs.