Pune resident Bharat Boob is frustrated with the elections. The businessman from Cantonment area not only has to keep his office shut today, he was also shocked to know that he couldn't withdraw money from his bank account.

This was because his bank, along with other nationalised banks in the city, has practically shut shop for three days. Almost 4,000 Pune bank staffers have been deployed to election duty. In fact, many banks have displayed notices stating they wouldn't be able to provide 'normal' services, as they were operating with a skeletal staff.



First time
Rajendra Sadavarte, a member of SBI Employees Union, said, "This is the first time that bank employees have been used for Assembly polls."

Varsha Laddha, deputy district election officer, confir- med, "We had deployed bank employees during the Lok Sabha polls, but this is the first time that we have roped them in for Assembly polls."

Added Sunil Deshmukh from the district election office, "Bank employees are being deployed in larger numbers his time, as they are more tech-savvy than schoolteachers, especially with tackling new EVMs."

But said an agitated Boob, "No big transactions are possible because of this arrange- ment. Business has ground to a halt for three days."

Government servants deployed for poll duty went on duty on Sunday morning. Their duty will end on Wednesday noon or evening.

Employees too are unhappy. "We agree that working for the elections is our duty, but there should be some rationale. How can so many employees be deployed from a single branch?" questioned Ravindra Bharat, local leader, SBI Employees Union.

Anjali Bedekar, president of the union, said they had filed a writ in Bombay HC, but it was delayed and they received an EC order stating they had to go for poll duty. "Fortunately, LIC employees had filed a writ earlier and were exempted," said Bedekar.

Senior employees, starting from the post of an accountant, have been deployed as micro-level observers. They are all gazetted employees. Lower-rung employees like peons will work as assistants.