VIJAYAWADA: Condemning the indifferent attitude of bankers in sanctioning loans under various government schemes, sanitation workers of Vuyyuru Nagar Panchayat, in Krishna district, staged a unique demonstration by dumping waste in front of four banks in the town on Thursday.
The unique demonstration incident went on for a couple of hours and created a sensation in the town. The bank operations were interrupted for a while in all the four banks — Andhra Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Syndicate Bank and Corporation Bank — in the morning hours causing inconvenience to customers.
Following directions from Collector A Md Imtiaz, Vuyyuru Nagar Panchayat Commissioner Prakash Rao directed the sanitation workers to stop their demonstration and to clear the wastes dumped before the banks.
“On several occasions, we have asked the bankers to sanction loans for us under various government schemes such as Prime Minister Swanidhi, Jaganna Thodu and YSR Cheyutha to meet our needs. However there has been no response from them even after Nagar Panchayat Commissioner Prakash Rao intervened in the matter. With no option left, we have dumped the waste to express our agitation against the bankers,” said B Suri Babu, a sanitation worker.
Meanwhile, members of the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) took a strong exception against the unique demonstration. “How can the sanitation workers resort to such practices before the banks, that too staging demonstration, under the guidance of Nagar Panchayat Commissioner. In case of any issues with officials in the banks, they should approach the higher authorities for getting their loans sanctioned but not resort to dumping the waste,” said association member Y Srinivasa Rao.
Collector A Md Imtiaz expressed grief over the incident and directed the officials concerned to look into the matter and prevent recurrence of such incidents. He asked bank officials to coordinate with beneficiaries and ensure necessary steps are taken for granting loans at the earliest.