The collateral-free loan under the 'Zero Poverty Loan Scheme' with 6 per cent interest rate will be disbursed to groups.

Each group will consist of 6 to 10 members from same background, sex and profession.

Poor people not covered by any loan programme will get Tk 3000 to 10,000 for income generating activity, according to RAKUB sources here.

Initially, Tk 5 crore will be disbursed under the programme, which will ultimately cover remote villages in 23 upzilas in Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari and Gibandha.

This loan will be in addition to RAKUB's loan target of Tk 800 crore for the current financial year, they said.

The scheme has been especially designed keeping in view the socio-economic condition of people in the areas, affected by monga (pre-harvest lean period) every year.

The sources said landless day labourers in the areas become jobless in the Bangla months of Ashwin and Kartik before Aman harvest. They sell their labour in advance or migrate to urban areas. The loans will reduce this trend, they said.

A source in RAKUB said Tk 55 lakh loans have been already been disbursed in monga-hit upazils in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Nilphamari districts .

RAKUB authorities have warned its officials at branched in 23 upzilas that they should carefully handle the disbursement so that deserving people get the facility and no irregularity takes place.

Instructions have been given to RAKUB branch managers that recipients must be paid loans within three days of submission of applications.

According to the circular, borrowers will have to repay loan installment with interest fortnightly.

Talking to this correspondent some branch managers said they have been put to an embarrassing situation as the amount they got was so small that hardly five percent of the targeted people could be brought under the scheme.