Students are volunteering at over 50 branches of SBI as part of Chennai Tricolour Initiative.
In the rush for cash after the government's sudden notes ban, thousands have complained about long hours at banks and ATMs. 27-year-old Vignesh of Chennai decided to act.
He started by taking a day off to help people waiting in queues at banks after the government suddenly pulled Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes out of circulation.
Now Vignesh does it from 9 am to 6 pm daily. "Last night, when I came here to deposit and exchange notes, it was very difficult and confusing. So I realised I should just help others," he says.
Students, homemakers and others are volunteering at over 50 branches of the State Bank of India (SBI) as part of what they call the Chennai Tricolour Initiative. "On social media, I saw many people talking and complaining but no one was doing anything about it. So when I suggested I was going to approach a bank with this idea, nearly 40 people agreed to volunteer," says Vijay Anand, a volunteer.
Bank officials were apprehensive at first. Until the group offered a detailed plan for their service. The banks agreed and promised to brief them.
"I thought they will appoint some junior manager to talk to us but then we saw they had all the senior management officials talking to us as this was a very serious issue and they needed a solution... they were happy to get us on board," Vijay says.
For nearly a week, the volunteers have even handed out an occasional cup of coffee or snacks to tired and desperate customers.
"People ask the same question in different ways. We just guide them and they feel very happy, ' says Ananda Varadarajan, a business executive volunteering with the initiative.
Ramesh Babu, the top official at an SBI branch, was a skeptic at first. "Then we saw that they are not just managing the floor but also dealing with seniors, filling out forms, educating people and most importantly, keeping the people in good spirits," he said.