For Anita Devi, there is an urgent need for money at home as her family has nothing to eat. But despite visiting the bank for the past several days and standing in excessively long queues, she is not able to withdraw her savings.
“We have been lining up outside this bank for the past 3-4 days and yet we are not getting our money. We don’t have wheat, pulses (anything to eat) and the banks refuse to give us money by constantly citing network issues,” said frustrated Anita.
With No Food in Kitchen, Poor Indian Women Scramble to Withdraw Meagre Savings#rbigovernor #COVID2019 @SputnikInt pic.twitter.com/h62KkXWM5C
— Rishikesh Kumar (@rishhikesh) March 27, 2020
Women who are responsible for managing household expenses are now facing a new challenge of queuing outside banks to withdraw their meagre savings. The majority of these women who stood in line work as domestic helps and have similar problems.
These women say they are out of jobs and have no cash in hand, a situation that has forced them to step outside to feed their children by withdrawing whatever savings they have.
Another woman called Rajni, who had turned up with her children complained about her kids being hungry since 9am. “We have little kids and there’s nothing to eat home, so we are lining up here to withdraw our money,” she said.
#Women who are responsible for managing household expenses are now facing a new challenge of queuing outside #Banks to withdraw their meagre savings.
— Rishikesh Kumar (@rishhikesh) March 27, 2020
Listen to bank official.@SputnikInt@nsitharaman@FinMinIndia #COVID2019 #CoronavirusOutbreak pic.twitter.com/ulbca42yOe
Responding to Sputnik, the bank official claimed that due to the curfew imposed in Mumbai and the shortage of staff, the institution was facing network and connectivity issues. He claimed that the matter has been resolved and people will now be given their money.
“We have been trying to explain this [network issues] to them. Office in Mumbai has no staff. Now that the connectivity has been regained, we are asking them to be patient and follow social distancing while lining up,” said the employee.
Price Rise: “Savings Not Enough”
People standing in line also collectively complained about the increase in the price of essential commodities such as rice, flour and vegetables. They claimed that local grocery stores had inflated the prices of these goods.
“Wheat is being sold at $0.47 (INR 35) per kg. Prices of vegetables have increased. Not a single vegetable is being sold for less than $0.60 (INR 40) per kg,” complained a man.
Similar claims were made by women who said their savings would not be enough to buy highly-priced essential commodities.
The monetary relief measures announced by the Modi government to help people pass through this difficult phase seems to generate not enough trust among these women who fear that they will starve once they run out of savings.
They have no idea where to go for fetching the "free food grain" promised by the govt.@SputnikInt @ArvindKejriwal @PMOIndia #COVID2019 #CoronavirusOutbreak pic.twitter.com/9FyhcSbKxR
— Rishikesh Kumar (@rishhikesh) March 27, 2020
“Once the money reaches us, then only we can say were have been benefitted,” said a woman.
Not familiar with the provisions and the procedure to access the services rolled out by the government, these women say they have no idea about where to go to receive the "free food grain" promised by the government.
The number female workers increased by 17 percent in India between 2001 and 2011. Cities saw a 70 percent increase from 14.7 million to 25 million.
