Bank staff decry slanderous propaganda
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 16 2016: The All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) and the United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), Manipur have decried the alleged slandering campaign launched by some people rather than appreciating the additional burden they have been bearing since the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

AIBOC Imphal Region secretary Ch Lilabati said, "We are aware that people have been facing lots of difficulties due to the Central Government's step of demonetising Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

Bank officers and staff have been sincerely working round the clock" .

The situation has been aggravated by the State's limited resources and absence of adequate stocks of Rs 100 notes, she said.

It was rather disheartening that some people have been floating false propaganda through social media that bank officers and staff were unduly involved in transaction of notes and some of them have been apprehended by Central agencies.

Bank staff decry slanderous propaganda

After Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes were demonetised on November 8, holiday for all banks was declared on November 9 .

Nonetheless, bank officers and staff have been working round the close since November 10, claimed Lilabati.

RBI sent Rs 107 crore (Rs seven crore in 100 notes and Rs 100 crore in 2000 notes) on November 11 and it was not enough.

"SBI has nine chest branches and UBI has five chest branches in Manipur.

These chest branches are RBI properties and we are just custodians", she continued.

It was to the SBI Imphal where RBI sent Rs 107 crore and the amount was meant for distribution to other banks as well as post offices.

Out of the five UBI chest branches, notes were delivered to Ukkhrul and Tamenglong by helicopters as done earlier.

Meanwhile, another Rs 281 crore reached SBI Imphal this evening.

This amount is in Rs 100 notes amounting to Rs one crore and Rs 2000 notes amounting to Rs 280 crore.

The new Rs 500 notes have not yet reached Imphal.

As such, people's plight can be reduced to some extent in the coming days, she said.

"We are not complaining about the additional burden.

We are just requesting the public to understand the situation.

We've done nothing wrong and even if one wishes to, he/she cannot breach the existing banking system", Lilabati said.

She then appealed to all the people, particularly youngsters, to stop slandering bank officers and staff through social media.

UFBU Manipur convenor Huidrom Kishorjit said that banks have initiated special measures for facilitating transaction of money by differently abled persons and senior citizens.

Exchange of old notes with new ones cannot be done at the whim and fancy of banks.

Only Rs 4500 can be exchanged at a time, that too after producing one's identity proof document.

Meanwhile, a system of impressing indelible ink on the fingers of people who come exchanging notes in the morning has been introduced in metro cities and the same system would be introduced in Manipur too.

Now, one can withdraw Rs 24,000 in a week, Kishorjit said.

There are around 200 ATM booths in the State and out of them 190 belong to SBI and each ATM booth has four compartments containing notes.

Of the four compartments , two are loaded with Rs 100 notes, one with Rs 500 notes and the fourth with Rs 1000 notes, and each ATM booth can be loaded up to Rs 40 lakh.

But the cassettes specified for Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes need re-calibration.

Till date, 12 ATM booths have been re-configurated for the new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes.

Five engineers are now engaged in re-configuration of ATM booths.

The plight can be reduced considerably if shops use swipe machines and customers use credit and debit cards, Kishorjit said.

He added that AIBOC and UFBU Manipur have been striving relentlessly to ameliorate the plight of the public as far as possible.