During the month of Ramadan, banking hours for public dealing were cut short, resulting in long lines in front of nearly every bank branch. The timings from Monday to Friday were scheduled from 10 am to 1:30 pm and for Friday, 10 am to 1 pm. Meanwhile, during these business hours, citizens crowded outside the banks to wait their turn to enter.
Outside the bank, management and protection struggled to control the individuals to ensure that they followed SOPs by wearing masks or keeping social distance from one another.
People faced extreme difficulty waiting in long lines outside banks while fasting during Ramadan.
However, these banks not only fail to manage long lines, but they also refuse to allow people to make transactions as a penalty for not observing SOPs. People rushed to banks due to restricted time slots, but due to SOPs precautions, banks are preventing people from withdrawing their money, according to an official source.
Eid is approaching, and people need cash to run their households on the celebratory occasion. However, many people are facing difficulty withdrawing cash, not only from banks but also from ATM machines.
One big problem found is that most banks only have one working cashier counter, causing customers in line to linger in the scorching sun for extended periods of time, and in certain cases, the time limit is exceeded, forcing them to return the next day.
Issues like these are the most prominent in cities like Karachi and Islamabad. The reason whether it’s happening on purpose or because of constraints, but these issues are prominent in big cities of Pakistan.
Furthermore, according to official reports, most Pakistanis seem reckless during the Pandemic, as they deliberately do not wear masks or maintain any social distance, and blame the authorities for the rising number of coronavirus cases.
