Covid-19 impact | Banking hours in Delhi, Kerala and Gujarat reduced; more on the way
As many as 40% of bank employees in Bengal are infected, unions claim as they move the government for reducing banking hours
Banks are working for reduced hours in a few states and a few more states are set to impose restrictions as the fury of the second COVID wave is rising with each passing day.
No printing of passbooks, doors locked to restrict entry of customers, strict adherence to distancing and sanitising protocols and long queues outside branches capture the scene in any bank in the country now. Add to that reduced working hours.
Banks have already curtailed working hours from 10 am to 2 pm in Delhi, Kerala, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh and more states are on the way to reducing transaction hours.
Covid-19 impact
“The second wave has infected a large number of bank employees in West Bengal. The figure could be as high as 40%,” said Sanjoy Das, West Bengal state secretary of All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC).
Das added that the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) has sent a letter to the state home department requesting their consent for reduced working hours.
“AIBOC also has written a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee to this effect. We are also planning to write to Raj Bhavan requesting governor Jagdeep Dharkhar to intervene in this matter,” said Das.
In Bengal, too, the union is requesting for working hours to end at 2 pm.
State government nod
According to the rule, SLBC cannot decide on reducing working hours without the consent of the state government.
The Indian Banks Association has advised curtailment of working hours.
The number of fresh cases that are being reported every day is rising in Bengal.
Until April 19, the total number of cases in the state stood at 6.68 lakh and deaths at 10,652.
On April 20, 9,819 fresh infections were reported in Bengal.
The worst-affected is Kolkata with 1.57 lakh cases and 3,231 deaths.
Nudged by the Calcutta High Court, the Election Commission of India has put a ban on roadshows and public meetings for the two phases of assembly elections left in the state.
However, public meetings involving fewer than 500 people can be allowed.