Bhubaneswar: Priyanka Majhi, 27, who flew all the way from Raipur to get his nursing certificate renewed at the health directorate here, failed to produce a bank draft since several banks across the city remained closed for the second consecutive day on Thursday.
Priyanka said it was necessary to renew the nursing certificate to continue her staff nurse job at a Bhilai-based hospital.
"I had come here three months ago when the staff at the health directorate asked me to visit them in the last week of May. I had to fix the date and got my flight tickets since I was not getting longer leaves," she said.
She spent almost Rs 12,000 for her journey from Raipur and stay in Bhubaneswar. "Still I couldn't get the work done as the banks remained closed today. It was a sheer waste of money and time for me," said the woman.
Closer of the banks has not only told upon Majhi, but also others in the city, mainly the shoppers and mid-scale businessman. "The crowd to the market is considerably low on Thursday compared to other days. It is just because the banks are closed and people do not have money to visit the market," said Ramesh, a shopkeeper at Rajdhani Haat.
Several ATMs were also found to be closed. Wherever the kiosks were open, customers found "No Cash" board put up there. "It has become a regular affair to find ATMs either closed or running out of cash. Earlier, it was because of demonetisation and now of bank strike," said RD Women's College student Akankshya Pati.
The problems due to bank and ATM closer also hit Sumitra Pradhan, 42, who came from Nayagarh to a city-based private hospital here. She brought her husband Pabitra for treatment and wanted Rs 10,000 to get him admitted. She had to run from pillar to post to find an ATM at Sampur, but in vain.
"My husband complained of fatigue. His condition deteriorated on Wednesday night when I decided to bring him to a hospital suggested by one of our relatives. The hospital employees asked for Rs 10,000. I did try a lot to get the money from ATMs, but couldn't find any such facility open. Later, the hospital authorities however helped me get him admitted," said Sumitra.
Several private and public sector banks across the country went on a two-day strike on Wednesday. The strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions is to protest against a meagre 2 per cent salary hike proposed by the Indian Banks' Association.
"The strike was a success on Wednesday, and it is continuing on Thursday as well. The proposed hike is very low, and we want it to be revised. We are the backbone of the financial services, and we want our rights. We don't want people to suffer for us, but we are forced to go on this strike," said an employee of a public sector bank here.
