Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 15: Banking services across Jammu and Kashmir were severely hit on first day of two-day nationwide strike called by employees unions against the privatization of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and retrograde banking reforms by the Government of India.
Call for the strike has been given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions, to protest against the proposed privatization of two State-owned lenders. The striking employees held protest demonstrations and raised slogans against the Government decision.
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Branches of all the Centralized banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), were closed since early morning, causing inconvenience to the customers. The strike will continue tomorrow.
However, branches of private sector lenders like J&K Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank remained open as they are not part of the strike.
At Jammu, the protesting Bank employees and officers assembled in front of State Bank of India Administrative Office Building, Bahu Plaza and held a demonstration against Government move to privatise nationalized banks.
While addressing the agitating employees, J&K UT secretary of All India Bank Officers Confederation, Harinder Arora said that the Government move to privatise two nationalized banks and LIC, announced by Union Finance Minister in the budget speech, will have dangerous consequences as it will not only destroy the entire Public Sector in the country but is also sought to ease out a strong public sector industry into private hands clandestinely.
“Public Sector Banks are very vehicles of our economy’s growth and development. PSBs have become the trustees of people’s savings and the repository and depository of the people’s confidence,” he said, adding that the Public Sector Banks’ contribution to make the country’s self-sufficiency is immense as they played pivotal role in all revolutions like green, blue, dairy etc.
Claiming that privatization neither brings efficiency nor the safety, Mr Arora said that if private enterprises are epitome of efficiency, there should not have been any NPAs from large private corporate entities at all.
Reports from Kashmir said that similar protest was held there by the striking employees. At some places, people alleged that ATMs have dried up as the cash was not refilled with banks remaining closed on Saturday and Sunday as well.
“It is really ironic that we had no idea about the strike. We should have been informed about it so that we could have made prior arrangements,” said some people.
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