Heavy rush at SBI branches, long queues at ATMs

Lucknow, Apr 10 (UNI) With the State Bank of India employees resuming work after a week-long strike today, heavy rush was witnessed at bank's branches, besides long queues at its ATMs across Uttar Pradesh.

All 833 SBI branches in Uttar Pradesh started work at around 0930 hours today and will continue to operate till late tonight.

UP SBI Staff Association president K K Singh told UNI here today that all the branches would continue to operate late tonight till all consumers were fully served.

Welcoming the settlement between the employees and the government over the pension, Mr Singh said over 22,000 SBI employees in the state will have to shed Rs 15 crore as a pay cut during the strike period.

Transactions worth over Rs 20,000 crore were pending before the SBI in the state due to the seven day strike.

The Union president also maintained that the employees were ready to do anything to cover up the time-loss due to strike including working even tomorrow, which is a government holiday.

''We are supplying enough cash to the ATMs so that every consumer who wants to withdraw money does not return empty handed,'' Mr Singh said.

Meanwhile, the UP government which had temporarily shifted its financial transactions to Allahabad Bank due to the strike is likely to return to the old system by this evening.

The SBI officials maintained that somehow it will take another day to streamline the system which went hay-wire since Monday last.

Several state government offices are yet to pay the salaries to their employees and the pensioners 100 were deprived of their monthly dues.

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