The state government has allowed banks to operate according to their normal working hours even though other restrictions will continue till September 15 to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The relaxations for the banks would come into effect from Thursday. Earlier, the banks were allowed to function till 3pm on working days. The working hours for most banks vary between 9.30am and 5.30pm.
Senior government officials said the banks were allowed to work normally as many of the beneficiaries of welfare schemes of the government were facing trouble opening accounts. The Duare Sarkar programme is on and more than one crore footfall has already been recorded at the camps.
“Many of the beneficiaries who are applying for the schemes need to open bank accounts. The restricted working hours in the banks were creating trouble for them,” said a senior official.
Sources also said the state government was trying to increase vaccination in rural areas to ensure that the novel coronavirus didn’t create havoc even if the third wave of the pandemic hit the state.
“Moreover, the chief minister has announced that once 50 per cent of the eligible rural population are vaccinated, suburban local trains would be allowed to operate,” said a source.
So far, more than 4 crore doses have been administered in Bengal, while the state requires 14 crore vaccines to cover seven crore eligible people.
EC meeting
The Election Commission of India held a video conference with Bengal chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi on Wednesday to take note of the Covid-19 situation in the state amid questions over when bypolls to seven Assembly segments would be held in the state.
“The ECI wanted to know about issues like the Covid-19 situation and vaccination progress. But the poll panel did not say when the bypolls could be held,” said a source.
The bypolls are significant as Mamata Banerjee has to get elected by November 5 to continue as the chief minister. She had lost the Assembly polls in Nandigram to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari.
The Trinamul Congress had submitted several memoranda to the poll panel for the immediate byelections.
