Joynal Abedin Khan
With the curtailed banking hours, banks failed to provide services to most of their clients, catching them off guard.
The Bangladesh Bank, in response to the 11-point directives of the Cabinet Division, on Sunday issued a circular, limiting the banking hours from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm.
During a visit to different branches of banks in the city’s Bashundhara, Motijheel, Dilkusha, Shantinagar and Paltan areas, many clients were seen returning without finishing their banking activities as bank authorities stopped serving their clients soon the clock ticked 12:30 pm.
Samira Rahman in Dilkusha area went to a service booth of Bank Asia for depositing a clearing cheque after waiting for long in the queue but failed to finish her work as business hours ended quickly before her turn came.
But the manager of the branch ABM Shahidul Haq said that those, who returned from the branch empty-handed, actually failed to turn up in time.
He also said that the service was slightly slow due to a lack of staffer as per the new duty rotation implemented as the instructions of the Bangladesh Bank.
Proshanta Kumar, a client of Dutch Bangla Bank’s Paltan branch, said the bank authorities cared much about time, not services to the clients.
Shahadad Hossian, a client of Agrani Bank Limited, said he went to the bank’s Dilkusha branch for submitting a treasury chalan, but the authorities showed him the door of the bank, pointing at the wall-mounted clock.
Eastern Bank’s security guard Abdul Gafur said that they shut the door of the banks soon after the expiry of the scheduled banking hours.
Anisur Rahman, a client of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited’s local branch, alleged that he failed to get the minimum sympathy from the bankers in finishing his banking activities during the limited banking hours.
Rozina Jaman, a client of Premier Bank’s Motijheel branch, said that she returned from the bank empty-handed though she came in time and queued up for service.
jak/wi
