Banks across India opened branches on Sunday to help customers complete cash withdrawals, deposits and other essential transactions before a proposed three-day nationwide strike, which was later deferred after the Indian Banks’ Association and the United Forum of Bank Unions reached an understanding following late-night talks.
The exceptional Sunday opening brought customers to branches in Kolkata and elsewhere, many of them seeking cash before banks were expected to remain closed for several days. A sizeable section of those visiting branches were senior citizens who do not use ATMs, cards or online banking.
At a nationalised bank in Jadavpur, a retired central government employee said he was visiting a bank on a Sunday for the first time. He said he preferred cash transactions and had come to withdraw money to buy clothes for his grandchildren. At a PSU bank on Ballygunge Circular Road, 85-year-old Uma Mahajan withdrew ₹20,000 to pay her domestic help at the end of the month.
Mahajan said bank employees should have avoided the proposed strike during the festive week. Her concern also highlighted the dependence of workers and households on physical cash and branch services, particularly when payments such as salaries are due and digital alternatives are not used by all customers.
The Sunday arrangements allowed customers to make deposits and withdrawals. A bank employee told one customer that applications for new accounts could be submitted with Aadhaar and PAN documents, but the accounts would not become operational before October 1.
The exceptional opening was also used by small businesses facing immediate payment deadlines. At Posta in Burrabazar, vegetable dealer Pabitra Majhi deposited around ₹2 lakh at a private bank to pay a supplier. He said he had visited the previous day but found the bank closed. Another customer, who works for a private share-market company, said he needed cash for payments due on Monday.
The proposed strike had been called by the UFBU, which claims to represent 90 per cent of the banking workforce. The unions were primarily pressing for a five-day banking week. The strike was deferred after the IBA and UFBU reached an understanding during talks on Sunday night.
For bank employees, the Sunday opening was unusual. A private bank sales manager said staff in sales and marketing regularly work on Sundays for targets and special campaigns, including visits to housing complexes, but he had never seen branch banking operate normally on a Sunday. Banks had previously opened on selected weekends during the 2016 demonetisation exercise to manage the rush to exchange or deposit discontinued high-value currency notes.
