Bank strike: Services partially hit in Madhya Pradesh

Banking services were partially affected in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday as a section of employees stayed away from work in support of the nationwide strike called by trade unions to protest against bank mergers and fall in deposit rates. Operations were affected in around 4,800 out of 7,416 branches of different private and public sector banks in the state due to the strike, Madhya Pradesh Bank Employees Association (MPBEA) secretary M K Shukla claimed.

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Demonstrations in Indore and Bhopal

Shukla said around 20,000 employees took part in the strike, impacting various services like cash deposits, withdrawals and cheque clearances. The striking employees took out a rally in Indore, the state's key industrial hub, to protest against the proposed merger of public sector banks. In Bhopal also, bank employees staged a demonstration in Arera Hills area while carrying placards voicing their protest against the Centre's banking policies. The strike call was given by All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) against bank mergers and fall in deposit rates.

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AIBEA general secretary C H Venkatachalam said, "Merger of banks is totally unwarranted in India as we need more banking services and opening of more branches to serve the people." "The merger has so far resulted in closure of branches and hence, it is a wrong policy. Recovery of the huge bad loans is the top priority for banks, and merger will change the priority. Hence, it is a bad idea," he added.

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