Jan Dhan beneficiaries give social distancing the go-by outside banks in Mohali

Giving social distancing the go-by, the poor in Mohali district have been queuing outside banks to withdraw Rs 500 credited to Jan Dhan accounts under the Pradhan

Giving social distancing the go-by, the poor in Mohali district have been queuing outside banks to withdraw Rs 500 credited to Jan Dhan accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) in view of the ongoing nationwide lockdown.

Rumours that the money will be taken back by the government if not withdrawn immediately is making these beneficiaries wait for hours under the sun. Even as the State Bank of India, which has the highest number of PMGKY accounts, has dispelled such rumours, there has been no change on the ground.

“Paisa aa gaya hai par nikale kaise. ATM hai par PIN generate nahi hua and bank wale baat hi nahi sun rahe (The money had been credited, but I don’t know how to withdraw it. I have a debit card but its PIN has not been generated. No one is listening to me in the bank,” says Shakuntla Devi, a resident of Pabhat village in Zirakpur, who was standing in one such queue.

A visit to various bank branches in Zirakpur and Dera Bassi revealed that officials have failed to deploy staff to ensure that those queuing up follow social-distancing norm. The banks were asked to send text messages to customers to ensure they come on different days, depending on their account numbers. As a precaution, main entrances remain closed and customers are let in one by one after checking their documents.

“After standing in the line for about two hours, I have been told that I cannot withdraw the money as days have been fixed according to the last digit of the account number,” said Rachna Devi of Dayalpura village in Dera Bassi, while denying that she got a message about staggered withdrawals from her bank branch.

While none of the bank officials contacted for comment for this story were willing to come on record, Dera Bassi subdivisional magistrate Kuldeep Bawa said: “I have asked police stations concerned to patrol the markets and ensure there is no rush outside banks. We are also creating awareness among beneficiaries.”