Darbhanga: The nationwide bank strike significantly impacted banking services in Darbhanga on Friday. Jointly called by the United Forum of Bank Unions and the United Forum of Gramin Bank Unions, the strike saw widespread participation from employees, leading to the disruption of various essential banking operations at branches. However, digital and self-service facilities such as ATMs, UPI, mobile banking, and internet banking remained operational, providing some relief to customers.

Under the banner of the United Forum of Gramin Bank Unions, bank employees staged a strong protest and sit-in at the head office of Bihar Gramin Bank in Saidnagar, led by Ramashankar Karna. During the demonstration, agitators primarily demanded the implementation of a five-day banking system and equal benefits of PLI (Performance Linked Incentive) for rural banks. Zahid Hussain Siddiqui, Saket Raman, Medha Jha, Vikas Ranjan, Akhilesh Kumar, and several other employees participated in the protest.

Meanwhile, the district unit of the United Forum of Bank Unions organized a foot march from the respective bank and demonstrated at Darbhanga Tower to support their demands. Speakers highlighted that the central government had made a written agreement in 2024 to implement a five-day banking system, but it has not been put into effect yet. They also vowed to continue the agitation against discrimination in PLI. The unions announced that the next phase of the movement would involve a three-day nationwide strike on September 28, 29, and 30.

Representatives from various organizations, including bank employees Ajit Kumar Singh, Komal Kumari, Anand Mohan Thakur, Pradeep Kumar Mishra, ITUC representative Rajiv Kumar Chaudhary, Ramadhar Singh, Kisan Sabha district minister Ahmed Ali Tamanna, Sunil Kumar Jha, Kaiser Alam, Khet Mazdoor Union district minister Chandeshwar Prasad Singh, Anand Mohan Das, and Saroj Kumar Singh, addressed the gathering, shedding light on the objectives of the strike.