The banks in the rural areas of the district witnessed unusual crowd when they opened for business after three days of holidays on Monday.
An official at a scheduled bank in Kattappana said many branches did not have enough police officers to control the crowd.
The branches of the lead bank in the plantation and and farm areas witnessed heavy rush.
The timing of the bank was limited to 2 p.m. and entry inside the bank offices was allowed only after tokens were issued and queues formed.
However, almost all the customers reached there prior to the opening time. Most of them were plantation workers in the cardamom and tea sector who had come to avail themselves of the benefits under various schemes and pension dues.
According to trade union leaders, the benefits are a solace to the workers in times such as these when there was no work in the plantations.
But the staff at the banks had a tough time as people flocked in large numbers, defying all lockdown guidelines and flouting instructions to keep physical distance and wear masks. A system could have been worked out by the police and the banks to better manage the crowd, said a local leader of a major political party at Mattukatta.
After lockdown
Ever since the lockdown was announced, the number of people visiting the banks especially in the rural areas was less. But the crowd on Monday was due to the banks remaining closed during the extended Easter weekend and with Tuesday being a holiday to mark the Vishu festival. There was also more traffic on the roads.
The crowd in banks in rural and remote areas showed the farm and estate workers were not using the ATM cards much, said regional manager of a scheduled bank.
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