A 79-year-old pensioner collapsed on the road while waiting in a snaking queue outside a branch of a nationalised bank in Serampore, in Hooghy district, on Tuesday. He had been standing for over 40 minutes.

Another septuagenarian visited a nationalised bank’s Dunlop Bridge branch twice in the past five days to withdraw her pension. She returned empty-handed on both days, the queue reminding her of the “mad rush during demonetisation”.

Angurbala Das, in her eighties, waits on a rickshaw opposite a nationalised bank in Behala’s Sarsuna on Wednesday morning. A queue outside the bank, on the other side of the road, had around 50 people. A family member stood in the queue for Das, who had come to withdraw pension. Bishwarup Dutta

Strict enforcement of social distancing protocols inside branches has made life miserable for customers, many of them senior citizens, who have to wait for hours outside.

Serpentine queues are visible mostly outside nationalised banks, where senior citizens usually keep their savings. The rush is felt more in the first and last week of every month, when pension is disbursed.

Only a handful of people are being allowed inside at a time — depending on the size of the branch, its staff and the number of counters. The rest are having to brave the sun and occasional showers for a considerable period of time outside. The sweaty conditions typical of the monsoon have made things worse.

Around 10.45am on Wednesday, there were around 50 people standing outside a nationalised bank’s branch in Behala’s Sarsuna. Many senior citizens were in the queue. Some of them took refuge inside nearby stalls, their positions held by younger family members.

Among them was Angurbala Das, in her eighties. Das was waiting on a rickshaw as a family member stood in the queue for her. “I do not leave home at all, except for bank visits,” said Das.

The mercury outside touched 33 degrees but the RealFeel was around 42 degrees.

At a branch of another nationalised bank in Bansdroni, some 40-odd people were standing in the queue outside a little after 12.30pm. The Celsius and RealFeel were 34 and 43 degrees, respectively.

“I had to wait for 90 minutes before I could enter. All I needed was an interest certificate,” said Uttam Raha, 69.

The people in the queue questioned the logic of having to wait for an hour to deposit a cheque or update a passbook.

Balram Ghosh, 72, waits outside a bank in Serampore on Wednesday. Ghosh, who retired from a private factory, had to wait for over an hour to withdraw his Rs 945 pension. The owner of an adjacent tea stall offered him a place to sit and said he would keep a track of his place in the queue. Pradip Sanyal

The days of complete lockdown in the state have compounded the problem, said bankers and customers.

“The state was under complete lockdown on Monday. When the bank opened after two days on Tuesday, there was a huge rush. Friday and Saturday are again complete lockdowns. I am shuddered to think of the rush when the bank re-opens on Tuesday,” said a manager of a nationalised bank.

The social distancing norms are being implemented according to the capacity of each branch. A 4,000sq feet branch with seven counters is allowing around 15 people at once. A 1,000sq ft branch with three counters is only allowing six people at a time.

“Broadly, we are trying to ensure that a one-metre distance is maintained between two persons,” said an official of a nationalised bank in New Alipore.

A senior banker said the pandemic had posed new challenges. “There is a staff crunch in many banks because a number of employees have tested positive for Covid-19,” he said.

Many said the queues reminded them of the days of demonetisation. “I had the same feeling on both days I went to the bank. The very sight of so many people standing outside and no one knowing when their turn would come,” said a septuagenarian woman from Dunlop, who returned empty-handed from her bank on both days.

A senior banker and a member of the State Level Bankers Committee in Bengal, which coordinates between the government and the banks, acknowledged the hardships senior citizens were facing.

“Senior citizens are not comfortable using ATM cards and Net or mobile banking. They still prefer withdrawing cash from the counter,” he said. His bank has started “exclusive counters” for senior citizens at some branches, he said. “The counters are operational for around 10 days a month, when the rush of pensioners is maximum.”

The queues get longer as one moves further away from Calcutta. The nationalised bank in Serampore, outside which the 79-year-old man collapsed on Monday, sees people queue up since 8am on several days. Banks open at 10am.

“The customer base in a branch in the suburb is more than an urban branch. The city has more business and the branch penetration is more in urban areas. Because of the reduced penetration in semi-urban and rural areas, the number of customers in each branch is more,” said an official in the regional head office of a nationalised bank.