Enraged residents of Mandi Shyam Nagar in Greater Noida closed down the local branch of the Oriental Bank of Commerce on Wednesday and claimed that bank officials were giving money only to “special customers”. Police officer had to rush to the spot to pacify the protesters.
The agitation, which started around 11 a.m., lasted for more than two hours. The protesters also blocked Dankaur-Sikandrabad road.
The protest comes just a day after the locals had agitated against the bank for not having any cash.
“I have been queuing up for the last two days to withdraw cash, but the bank never has money. On the one hand we are victimised by the government’s policies and on the other, the bank staff refuses to co-operate with us. There is a marriage scheduled in my home and I do not have any cash,” said Rajesh Kumar.
“I am old and I cannot stand in line for hours. I had come on Tuesday but did not get cash. On Wednesday too there was no cash in the branch in the morning,” said Sukhraj, another local, who hails from Bilaspur village.
‘No cash’
Branch manager Kailash Jha told The Hindu that the branch had no cash on Wednesday. “The cops posted near the branch told us that they cannot control the crowd. They advised us to not get into a heated argument with the locals. Later, the police force reached the scene. Senior police officers pacified the protesters and only after that the branch was opened,” Mr. Jha said.
The manager said that the branch needs at least Rs.20 lakh daily but gets only Rs.6 lakh-Rs.8 lakh.
“There are 40,000 account holders in this branch. We are witnessing public ire daily,” Mr Jha said, adding: “Our lives are in danger as the public can turn violent any time. We have asked the police to ensure our protection.”
“We have six employees in the branch. We are ready to work late into the night to facilitate the customers but things are not in our hand as we are not getting sufficient amount from the bank,” Mr. Jha said.
“When we came to know about the incident, we dispatched personnel to the scene. We brought the situation under control and normalised traffic movement on Dankaur-Sikandrabad road. We have deployed cops at the branch to avoid any untoward incident,” said Ajay Kumar, deputy superintendent of police, Greater Noida.
Apart from Bilaspur, other areas have also witnessed similar protests, including at the Bank of India branch in Sector 62 and PNB branch in Sector 16 — both in Noida.
(The writer is a freelance journalist)
