Most tea workers are welcoming the move top open bank accounts as they believe their money will be safe
The cash ban has hit the livelihood of tea garden workers in north Bengal. Their salaries were paid in cash earlier, but after the currency ban, the centre's labour department has insisted that bank accounts be opened for tea garden workers. From Sunday, banks have set up camps at tea gardens and in one such camp, 300 accounts were opened in just three days.
Ahead of the first pay day since the currency ban, there was a last minute rush to open bank accounts.
The centre pushed the state governments to organize camps for opening bank accounts in order to include such huge populations that have been left out of the banking system for so long.
"This is good for us and it's good for the nation too. Earlier we did not have accounts but now we do," said Philip Titi, a worker at the Haldibari Tea Garden.
Most tea workers are welcoming the move as they believe their money will be safe.
"Earlier we were worried about carrying cash home. Sometimes it would be stolen from us. Now I will just withdraw from the bank and an ATM card will further ease things," said Debashish Ray, a worker at the Gairkata Tea Garden.
Banks are struggling to cope with the extra rush. With the country going through a cash crunch at present, bank accounts have become necessary to avoid a crisis.
"These are zero balance accounts. Their salaries and provident fund will be deposited in these accounts. If they have savings, they can deposit it here," Mrinal Roy, a bank official, said.
While the jury is still out on whether the cash ban will wipe out black money, this move has ensured that more number of tea garden workers have bank accounts now.