As many as 18 branches of 12 banks that are functioning in villages or towns from where coronavirus positive cases have been reported will be closed.
In a letter to Deputy Commissioner S.B. Bommanahalli, district lead bank manager has said that branches in the military camp area in Belagavi, Bilgundi, Hire Bagewadi, Kudchi, Peeranwadi, Halaga, Sankeshwar and Yallur will be closed.
The district administration has identified and declared these areas as sensitive due to the tracing of positive cases. The police are asking us to close down the branches as crowd control can be a problem in these branches, he said.
The Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in these areas have been replenished with cash. The services of banking correspondents will be utilised wherever available, he said.
However, this has not gone down well with the residents. “Cash flow is a necessity during lockdown. We will face serious problems if the banks don’t function,’’ said Sambhaji Birajdar, a resident of Bilgundi. The government should ask the banks to function with strict adherence to social distancing norms, he said.
Banking correspondents are not in sufficient number. More over, the police are blocking their movement too. It would be better if the branches were kept open, said K.N. Doddi, a resident of Peeranwadi.
Bank staff are apprehensive of going to their branches, say bank officers. Some staff have threatened to go on leave if forced to work in areas where positive cases have been detected, an officer in the lead bank said.
