Long queues outside banks

RAWALPINDI. Salaried persons, old pensioners and other customers are facing hell-like situation in all bank related issues, as long queues are seen outside the branches of almost all banks on daily basis.

The old pensioners, under the scorching heat, were seen fighting among themselves when they were standing in a long queue outside a bank branch in Saddar area here on Thursday.

Some of old pensioners fell unconscious and collapsed in front of a bank branch in Saddar. The novel coronavirus pandemic has badly affected all activities, particularly bank related issues lately.

After the government released the salaries and pensions, hundreds of working and retired employees swarmed the few open bank branches in the city on Thursday. Many pensioners, however, could not get their meagre amounts for another day, complaining that they could not reach the counters due to long queues.

Not only the bank staff but security guards as well were seen using rough language against customers standing in queues. “How they could afford standing in long queues in front of a bank branch for getting their own money,” various customers complained.

Muhammad Usman, the branch manager of a big bank, told The News “we are strictly following the SOPs [standard operating procedures] and allowing only limited number of customers to enter the bank at a time.

Those arriving the bank branches early did not follow the token system and thronged the counters without waiting for their turn. Disgruntled customers said the bank managements did not devise any plan to manage such an immense rush of people. They also blamed slow service for exacerbating the situation.

The customers appealed to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to order all banks to deal their customers with respect. The customers were not only standing in long queues but also facing humiliation at the hands of the security guards in banks, they added.