As people continue to grapple with the cash crunch, three bank holidays beginning this weekend are set to add to their woes. Banks will remain closed on December 10 (second Saturday of the month), December 11 and December 12 (Milad un-Nabi, Prophet Muhammad’s birthday).
Kapil Singh, a resident of Homes 121, a residential society in Sector 121, Noida, told City Spidey that he came to know about the bank holidays through a newspaper. “I immediately rushed to the bank to withdraw money. But the bank staff told me that I could take only Rs 15,000, as they were short of cash and needed to cater to other people as well,” he added.
Despite a month having passed since demonetisation, queues at banks and ATMs show no signs of shortening. Suraj Bharghav, a resident who lives in a rented house in Sector 15, Noida, said, “After waiting for two hours at the Union Bank branch in Sector 15, the staff told me that they had run out of cash. I need to pay my rent urgently. What do I do now?”
According to Rajeev Garg, secretary of Sector 27 RWA, most people are not aware about these bank holidays. He said that in the current situation, banks must remain open for the public on one of these three days.
Sangeeta Pathak, a resident of Sector 30, Noida, said, “My husband’s salary comes on the 8th of every month. It’s just the beginning of the month and we have a host of bills to pay. We need money for tuition fees of the children, EMI of the car and other household items. The withdrawal limit of Rs 2,000 at ATMs is not enough and must be increased by the government.”
