VIJAYAWADA: The end of the road for the 96-year old Andhra Bank as proposed by the Centre is not going down well with the people of AP.
The ruling YSR Congress, opposition Telugu Desam, Congress and Communist parties and several other organisations are against the proposed merger of Andhra Bank, an entity that has brought recognition to the people of the region because of its name.
Former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has written to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, reminding her that Andhra Bank is linked to the sentiments of Telugu people and they were unable to come to terms with the merger proposal. He sought continuation of the name ‘Andhra Bank’ if the merger is unavoidable.
Freedom fighter Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya started Andhra Bank at Machilipatnam in 1923.
The bank was nationalised in 1980 and expanded to 2,904 branches across the globe with a total of 20,346 employees. Sitaramayya’s decision to start the bank provided employment to thousands and also indirectly supported lakhs of families of its employees.
The employees of the bank too are against the proposed merger and have staged protests demanding withdrawal of the proposal.
Machilipatnam MP V. Bala Souri said that Telugu people have an emotional attachment with Andhra Bank for the past 96 years. He said that he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a rethink on the merger proposal in view of the sentiments of the people.
Congress MP K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao has also written to Ms Sitharaman demanding continuation of Andhra Bank. Its employees said that the merger would cripple banking services as bank branches would be decreased.
