United News of Bangladesh

Banking transactions across both public and private banks concluded in a busy atmosphere on Wednesday, the last working day before the Eid-ul-Azha holidays, with customers crowding branches to withdraw cash. A visit to several banks in the capital revealed long queues from the morning, as customers stood in line to withdraw money. Transactions on the day were significantly higher compared to other working days. Bank officials said the majority of customers came to withdraw large sums of money, mainly to purchase sacrificial animals. With banks scheduled to remain closed for 10 consecutive days during the Eid holidays, many also withdrew cash for other festival-related expenses. Moinul Hasan, a senior official at the Banani branch of Standard Bank, said, “Every year, there is pressure on banks the day before Eid-ul-Azha. This year is no exception. Many customers are withdrawing savings to meet the cost of Qurbani.” When asked whether the pressure was causing any difficulty in cash disbursement, Jasim Uddin, manager of Social Islami Bank’s Banasree branch, said, “The bank has sufficient cash. Due to heavy customer flow, there may be some delays in certain branches, but there is no cash shortage.” FICCI responds in detail to budget, flags concern over tax hikes Some customers, however, expressed dissatisfaction, alleging delays in receiving large amounts of money against cheques. Many reported having to wait for extended periods. Mir Hasan, a customer of a private bank, said, “I came in the morning with a cheque for Tk 2 lakh. At first, they told me to come after lunch. Later, they said they couldn’t give Tk 2 lakh at once—I would have to take Tk 1 lakh now and collect the rest in the last hour.” The rush wasn’t limited to private banks—state-owned banks also experienced similar pressure. At Sonali Bank’s Motijheel branch, long lines of customers were seen waiting to withdraw cash. Mamunur Rahman, one such customer, said, “I came to buy cattle at the Kamalapur market. Thought I’d withdraw cash first. But the crowd at the bank is overwhelming.” ATM booths also saw significant crowds, with queues in some areas extending onto nearby streets. Many customers also faced server issues while trying to withdraw money from booths. Mashayet Priyoti, one of the affected customers, said, “I waited in line for half an hour outside and another 15 minutes near the booth because of server issues. Thankfully, I was eventually able to withdraw the money.” Commenting on the situation, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and spokesperson Arif Hossain said, “To reduce customer pressure, people are being encouraged to use digital transactions, especially at cattle markets digital payments can also ensure better security.” The Eid-ul-Azha holidays will begin from June 5, and banks along with government offices will remain closed until 14 June. However, to facilitate payment of wages and bonuses to garment workers and ensure smooth import-export operations, scheduled bank branches in industrial areas will remain open on June 5, 11 and 12.

Road accidents during the recent Eid-ul-Azha holiday rush claimed 273 lives in just 15 days, even though long-haul buses were operating for just eight of those days, according to the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Shamiti (Passenger Welfare Association). At least 240 road crashes occurred during the July 14- 28 period, BJKS revealed, while presenting its road accident report-2021 at a press briefing on Friday. Members of the road accidents monitoring cell of the organisation prepared the report collecting information from widely published and trustworthy national, regional, daily newspapers and online portals over the 15 days covered. The report also said 447 people were injured in the accidents that occurred at a time when lakhs of people hit the road to go home and celebrate the Eid festival with their families -home being wherever one's family may be permanently resident, either village or district away from urban centres. The report also stated that among the deceased, 27 were women, 17 children, 53 pedestrians, 16 transport workers, and 87 drivers.    Read: 7 die in separate accidents in Bagerhat BJKS also tallied the types of accident most prevalent. They find that roughly a quarter (25.8%) are head-on collisions, and even more overwhelmingly, over 44%  feature pedestrians struck or overrun by vehicles. A little over 18% are cases of the driver losing control and falling into a ditch.  Like other years, motorcycles were the most lethal form of transport, recording 93 deaths in 87 accidents. This accounts for 36.25% of the total accidents and 34.06 % of the total deaths recorded.

Eid-ul-Azha, the festival of sacrifice, is being celebrated in Bangladesh as the country grapples with the Covid-19 outbreak and floods inflict untold sufferings to hundreds of thousands of people.

The government officials including officials of private and autonomous organisations have been asked not to leave their work stations during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha holiday to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.