Bhopal: As the MP government tries to quell the rising anger among farmers, co-operative banks in the state have gone are on a strike for the second day in a row on Tuesday. The banks are tasked with operating the accounts of farmers.
Lakhs of farmers have been turned back from the banks over the last two days.
Upset over the delay from the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in extending the Seventh Pay Commission benefits to the staffers of Central Co-operative banks, around 15,000 employees of 38 banks have stopped working since Monday.
The strike, which affects more than 930 bank branches, has come as a jolt for farmers and government alike. After the Gaon Bandh protest on June 10, the state government planned to woo back farmers by speeding up payments of crop procurements and incentives but the bank strike has come as bolt from the blue.
Farmers, who are due to withdraw their remuneration from crop sales, incentive beneficiaries and Kisan Credit Card users were stumped by the sudden discontinuation of work at private banks.
Not able to withdraw money from the bank for purchase of fertiliser, seeds and diesel, farmers created a ruckus at the SDM office in Berasia, on the Bhopal outskirts, on Monday. The unruly scenes were repeated in Karond area of Bhopal on Tuesday where anguished farmers sat on a dharna.
“Co-operative bank employees discharge their duties diligently in all the farmers’ initiatives and also in Public Distribution System but the state government is yet to extend benefits of Seventh Pay Commission to us despite offering the same to other staffers in MP,” Shamiullah Qureshi, general secretary of Bhopal Central Co-operative Employees’ Federation told News18.
“We have had several rounds of discussions with the state government and would have a state-level delegation meet with the authorities on Wednesday,” he said.
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