Bank officials on poll duty, people suffer

Bengaluru: The wait for services at some of the nationalised banks has become longer than usual as some of the officials have been deputed on poll duty.

A few branches of nationalised banks, like Canara Bank and State Bank of India, are functioning with minimal staff as some of the officers have already been deputed on poll duty.

A Canara Bank manager, on condition of anonymity, said that following directions from the Election Commission, some of the staff members from different branches have been sent on election duty.

Even on normal days, banks have to deal with officials going on sick leave or official leave. "Normally, staffers from the head office are chosen for election duty. But rarely, employees from the branches too are summoned," the manager said.

A customer said that his loan application has not been accepted for the last three days. A senior official said that the additional responsibility of accepting and processing loan applications will be entrusted to an officer.

An official, who was on poll duty during the last assembly polls, said that it was tough to deal with people in some areas. But the staffers are compensated monetarily and are paid Rs 1,200 per day. Being on poll duty was a good experience, he said.