HYDERABAD: The nation-wide bank strike call by the United Forum of Bank Unions threw life out of gear, as people scurried to withdraw money before ATMs ran dry. Even as slogans were being raised at the State Bank of India at Koti, a long queue formed outside the ATM on the premises.The demands of the nine trade unions represented by the UFBU include opposition to banking sector reforms, outsourcing of bank jobs as well as scrapping recommendations of the Khandelwal committee which allow public sector banks to fix salaries of their staff on the basis of specific skill sets. “There have been issues relating to recruitment and other issues which have been overlooked by the government. Even though we will suffer a revenue loss, we will pursue the strike till a decision is reached,” said J Lalitha, deputy manager (currency administration) at the State Bank of Hyderabad, Gunfoundry, who was attending the rally at Koti.Over the din of the slogans, Hanumanth Patil, a resident of Bidar, Karnataka complained about the unexpected loss to business. “I did not want to carry cash all the way to Hyderabad and my associate was supposed to deposit the money today. I checked at the ATM but since no transactions will take place, I will have to extend my stay here,” said the cable operator. Small retailers also saw a dip in business as people decided to save up. “The strike during Ramzan means virtually no business,” said M Rehman, proprietor of a furnishing store in Badi Chowdi.Though many ATMs remained shut and those at strategic locations ran dry by afternoon, people had to scrape through the day in absence of plastic money. “I was caught unaware and my ATM card has been blocked for some time now. That left me with no cash for filling petrol in my bike,” said Uttara Shankar, a student. Some chose to save up instead of taking care of themselves. “I was prescribed some diagnostic tests as I have been suffering from viral fever for the past three days. I will get them done tomorrow as I can’t pay for the reports immediately,” said N Divya, an MNC employee.Vinayak M counts himself lucky. “I had to buy some school textbooks. As the sum crossed Rs 1,000, my mother said we can purchase them later,” he said, enjoying a ‘chaat’ in Koti.As the banks used innovative techniques such as jingles and percussion instruments to get the chant going, denizens seem resigned to the strikes and bandhs.
Comments
0 comment