Bank sets up kiosk in remote island in Kerala to facilitate banking amid COVID-19 crisis

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of Alappuzha Island in Kerala who are distant residents to the mainland can have a sigh of relief as the State Bank of India (SBI) recently extended its services to the island. The bank has opened a kiosk on the island to facilitate the habitants of the island.

Earlier, the residents of the island were required to undertake a long journey to avail the banking services. The residents needed to first travel by boat to reach the mainland and then catch an auto-rickshaw to reach the bank in Purakkad.

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However, with the bank services coming to the island, the residents have expressed relief.

"People face difficulty in going to banks in the mainland due to lack of transport facilities so we're reaching out to them in rural areas," N Naik, an officer at SBI Mavelikara said.

"Earlier we had to first travel in a boat & then hire an autorickshaw to reach banks in Purakkad in the mainland. It's a matter of huge relief that bank officials are coming to us," Treesa, a resident of Naluchira island in Purakkad said while speaking with ANI. Banks seem to have started this service in view of the COVID-19 pandemic that has compelled the entire country to undergo lockdown, reducing the services to a bare minimum.

As India battles with the COVID-19 pandemic, the death toll due to Coronavirus has risen to 3,435 and the number of cases climbed to 112,359 in the country, with an increase of 5,609 cases in the last 24 hours. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 63,624 while 45,300 people have been cured and discharged, and one patient migrated, as per the latest numbers from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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