Suryapur Bank agents, Diamond staff to keep off

The employees of Diamond Jubilee Co-operative Bank and recurring deposit agents of Suryapur Co-operative Bank have decided to boycott the Gujarat Formation Day celebrations. Both the banks are closed for over 18 months.

The employees of Diamond Jubilee Bank, led by Bank Kamdaar Sangh President Natu Patel, will wear black clothes and observe May 1 as 'Black Day'. The employees will also observe fast in front of the Salabatpura branch of the bank.

Patel said, "179 employees of Diamond Jubilee Co-operative Bank were retrenched with an assurance that they would be paid their salaries and other dues within 15 days. But not a single rupee has been paid even two months after retrenchment."

The recurring deposit agents of Suryapur Co-operative Bank will also boycott the Gujarat Formation Day celebrations. The agents will display black strips on their clothes as a mark of protest.

Paresh Parekh, convenor of Suryapur Bank Agent Daink Bachat Hitvardhak Samiti, which represents the agents, said, "We have decided to boycott the Gujarat Formation Day celebrations. We will follow the chief minister through all his programmes and register our protest by displaying black strips on our clothes."

Around 8,600 people, who had deposits under Rs 1 lakh, have lost a total of Rs 9.47 crore following the closure of Suryapur Co-operative Bank.