A counter business on holidays

A visit to few of the banks during the day revealed that most of the staffers had marked their presence.

Located predominantly in a residential area, the Bank of Maharashtra in Borivli recorded a heavy flow of customers in the first few hours of the bank’s opening. According to bank manager P M Bramha, there was more of withdrawals then deposits. This resulted in shortage of cash reserve.

Said the bank cashier R D Dharmadhikari, Rs 2 lakh had to be ordered from the Thakurdwar Currency Chest. Same was the story at the Bank’s main branch at Borivli where customers had to wait to get their money.

However,at the Shamrao Vithal Co-op bank, Borivli, the story was different. Branch manager Daya Murdeshwar had anticipated a heavy inflow of customers and had made appropriate arrangements to counter this.

“The transactions here are more deposit oriented, so people took full advantage of the full working day,” said Murdeshwar.

A customer, J B Mehta, who has an account with the bank said, “It is a good idea to keep the banks working on Sunday.” His opinion was seconded by another another customer who said that people could use it to their advantage.

But there were some who disagreed. Anilkumar Gokhale, chief manager, personal banking division of the State Bank of India, Churchgate branch, was unhappy with the RBI’s decision to keep the banks open on a Sunday. He said to The Indian Express, “It is an irrational decision and totally irrelevant to the cause of public convenience as it will serve no purpose and only set a bad precedent. Moreover it goes against the Gumasta Act of a weekly off,” adding, “Weneed to be more practical.”

He further said, most people had taken precautions and on April 6-7, the bank’s staff was under tremendous pressure as “Almost double the number of vouchers were signed on those days, but today has been like any other working Saturday.”.

Hong Kong Bank’s manager, public affairs, Malini Thadani opined that Sunday as a working day would not be of much use except for those in an emergency.

“That is where the role of Any Time Money (ATM) comes in,” she was quick to comment. “Besides there is no linkage for enterprise to work on a Sunday as all other establishments both Government and private will be closed.”

Though she did have a point there, most bank managers felt that the advantage of a full working weekend was that all deposits would be cleared by Monday. “The pressure will be much less,” said Gokhale.

Agreeing with him was S S Nayak, chief manager, Syndicate Bank, New Marine Lines branch. He said, “The clearing instruments would otherwise drag on tillWednesday.” Besides, Sunday would also give the staff time to catch up on the backlog of work.

However, said Gokhale, with the administrative offices remaining closed on Sunday, any decision-making which required their help would have to wait till Monday.

While, most banks, especially those in South Mumbai located in the hub of business dominated areas, expect little or no transactions on Sunday. S V Salgaonkar, chief manager (operations), Bank of India, Mumbai main branch said, some of his clerical and Class IV staff have no objection to working on a Sunday. “They will be compensated, but what about the officers,” asks Salgaonkar.

Interestingly, the Hong Kong Bank, main office will remain open on Sunday, but Thadani opined that the time has come to rework on the list of scheduled holidays. With most banks expecting little or no work on Sunday, a lady at Syndicate Bank, New Marine lines branch, could be heard urging her colleagues to organise a picnic tomorrow after lunch. While, at SBI, Churchgate,Gokhale could be heard debating with colleagues whether playing marbles would kill time.

But all said and done, working on a Sunday may not prove to be all that bad an experience.