BENGALURU: Overworked bank employees are having a tough time with no weekend holidays but they say the urgency of the crowd keeps them pumped up throughout the day. Many retired bank employees too have been called in to lend a helping hand and a majority of them have agreed readily. Senior bank employees have made several arrangements for their employees to keep the momentum going.
Gangadhar, divisional manager of Canara Bank, MG Road, says, “We are a service industry. And when the government made such an announcement, we will have to rise to the occasion. Our employees are stressed and exhausted, but the long queues in front of our bank and the trust that people have in us keeps us going.”
The hard work of these bank employees has definitely not gone unnoticed. Words of appreciation for bank employees have been pouring in right from the chairmen and managing directors of various banks.
M M Chiniwar, general manager of Canara Bank, MG Road, says, “We all understand that this is the need of the hour. The chairman has saluted the efforts of the staff. Our employees do not even have time to eat. We have made arrangements to provide high-tea and lunch to them. We knew it was going to be a challenge and so we called in many retired employees who were happy to help. There are times when we do not have space to keep the cash. Canara Bank in Bangalore Circle alone collected `1,800 crore in the last three days.”
Bank employees said collecting cash deposits was considerably comfortable while exchange and withdrawals were more challenging.
“Many people go to different branches of the same bank to withdraw cash. The withdrawal is reflected immediately in the system and to convince customers that they cannot withdraw anymore is a challenge. Besides, those coming for withdrawal and deposit are our customers who we are familiar with. But in the case of exchange counter, people who are not our customers too come. They would have gone to different banks and got some money exchanged. If our employee does not make the punch, it will not reflect in the system that the same person has already exchanged money at a different bank. And the queue in exchange section is the largest one, hence we have put pandals,” says Chiniwar.
No end to long lines but most ATMs don’t function
Cash-strapped citizens continued to crowd ATMs and banks across the city on Monday. As many ATMs remained non-functional queues in front of banks kept on increasing. Sita G, a small-time worker from Gandhi Bazaar was at a bank by 6 am. “I had come to the bank for two days but could not enchange old notes due to the crowd. Hence, I came early today. I have to get the money today or else I will have no food to eat.” Students from other states are the ones who are badly affected. “My mother was supposed to deposit some money into my account. But she has not been able to do so due to the crowd. Now, I am solely depending on my friends,” said Bidut Saikia, a student from Assam, LLB in a city college. Rajesh Krishna from HSR Layout said ATMs in his area remain non-functional.