The depositors of distressed finance company Central Investment & Finance PLC (CIFL), who opposed the restructuring plan proposed by the Central Bank, yesterday requested a dialogue with President Mahinda Rajapaksa for relief.

To this end, the depositors yesterday launched a Sathyagraha campaign outside the head office of CIFL in Dharmapala Mawatha.

CIFL Depositors’ Association Vice President M.A. Gunasinghe said most of the depositors of CIFL were senior citizens and do not want 60 percent of their deposits to be converted into shares as proposed in the restructuring plan.

“Us, senior citizens want to be independent for the rest of our days,” he said.

Therefore, he said their sole demand is to have their capital and the interest back.

He said three depositors have already passed away after developing various aliments due to stress and more than 100 depositors are currently suffering from aliments brought about by stress.

Gunasinghe dismissed the allegation that people deposited their monies in order to get higher interests. “We got only 1 percent above the average rate and that is not a major issue,” he added.