SLBC urges Bengal govt to restrict banking hours up to 2 pm amid soaring COVID cases

    Kolkata, Apr 23 (PTI) State Level Bankers' Committee
has appealed to the West Bengal government to restrict
business hours from 10 am to 2 pm for at least two weeks, amid
a raging second wave of the COVID19 pandemic, an official said
on Friday.
    Currently, banks provide services from 10 am to 4 pm
daily, except holidays and the second and fourth Saturday of a
month.
    Many of the member banks have already been advised by
their corporate offices to take stock of the COVID situation
in their respective working zones and consider restricting
attendance up to 50 per cent in their branches and offices,
Nabin Kumar Dash chief general manager of Punjab National Bank
and convenor of the SLBC said in a letter to the government.
    "Many banks have approached us for imposition of
restricted banking hours, as was implemented last year to
reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. Ensuring 50 per cent
workforce availability itself is a challenging task in the
present situation given a large number of infected staff and
their family members," he said in the letter sent to the
government on April 20.
    Full-fledged banking services for six hours will be a
"daunting task" in the present COVID situation, he said.
    "We would urge you to take a considered view to
restrict banking business hours from 10 am to 2 pm at least
for next two weeks, which may be reviewed for continuation or
otherwise," Dash said.
    He said the overall COVID situation at the ground
level is alarming compared to the first wave of the pandemic.
    "We have also sent another letter to the West Bengal
government today. What we have gathered is that the state
administration is actively considering our request," the SLBC
convenor told PTI.
    Meanwhile, All India Bank Officers' Confederations
West Bengal unit has also written a letter to Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar, requesting him to ask the appropriate authority to
reduce the banking up to 2 pm, and implement closure of bank
branches on all Saturdays in view of the current pandemic
situation.
    "Several states have already implemented all Saturdays
off and reduced banking operations up to 2 pm to combat the
second wave of the coronavirus infections. We have requested
the West Bengal governor to ask the appropriate authority to
consider our request," AIBOC state unit secretary Sanjay Das
said.
    West Bengal on Thursday registered the highest
single-day spike of 11,948 COVID-19 cases, taking the tally
beyond the 7-lakh mark, the health department said in its
bulletin.
    The fresh infections pushed the state's coronavirus
caseload to 7,00,904.
    The death toll also went up to 10,766 as 56 more
patients succumbed to the disease, it said.
PTI BDC
JRC JRC

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)