The bank unions' strike, which has entered its second day today, has put a halt to several banking activities including cheque clearances and fund transfers.  The All India Bank Employees' Association, which called for a strike against reforms in the sector, has said that the strike was successful and bank operations were affected. According to this association, over 10 lakh bank employees and officers took part in the strike. Twenty four public sector banks and 12 private banks joined this strike.

A large number of people were affected due to the strike of the banks. Especially pensioners and government employees whose had their accounts in state banks expressed their displeasure over the strike. Sixty-four-year old Mathur from Hyderabad said “How could doctors and bank employees go on strike? I applied for a pension loan and I don't know what's the status.” Others too responded similarly. Radhika, who works at Hi-Tec city said “I need to send a DD drawn from a nationalised bank with immediate effect and banks employees are on strike. What the hell should I do now?” The experts said government should intervene and make necessary amendments to the law to ensure that bank employees and medical doctors can't call for a strike.

(AW Phani)