Abid Gowhar
Srinagar/ June 30 / Well before the Indian banking system could imagine a door-to-door banking concept, a virtual of its kind is going-on during a mission called “Reaching-out-to-all” launched by J&K Bank in Ganderbal rural block in district Srinagar. A real and practical banking, one could imagine in all difficult circumstances is being experienced during the mission and banking services are being provided beyond its boundaries, there, where one stands.
The programme has giving JK bank marketing officials a unique and unforgettable experience while putting severe efforts to visit every nook and corner of the villages of the block in order to educate, involve and motivate those people towards general banking who are uneducated, unaware, underprivileged rather unattended in our rural society.
One can see high paid bank officials sitting not on the revolving sophisticated chairs but……. officially doing banking sitting among the villagers, rural artisans and farmers on the rough surfaces, on any raised block, on the naked clay, uncouthly stones, door steps or on the handmade grassy mats.
The villagers at first sight would neither believe nor offer you a good place to sit on. Not like the villagers for whom the services are rendered are not hospitable or ill-cultured but they are made to think thousand times before they hear or respond any stranger or persons who call themselves as bank officials. They are really most hospitable, supportive and well-mannered but they have got a bitter experience in the past during late nineties when they have been cheated, misinformed and mislead by many people calling themselves as employees of so called banks / financers like Kashmir Valley Finance and Sunrise Investment Ltd.
Both these private companies (which were later banned) had their offices in length and breadth of the valley and they had engaged local youth in collecting money with the hollow words that their money will be doubled in just three years period of time while the money in other banks in those days was being doubled in not less than six years period.
Shaheena Akhtor a 27 year old girl, resident of village Ladhwina tullamulla couldn’t stop her tears when she showed a Recurring Deposit Passbook of Kashmir Valley finance and Investment (KVFI) Branch Tullamulla under account No. 149 to one of the officials of the JK Bank team. Her father had expired in 1996 and since the period is doing Aari knitting work along with her three sisters at her home.
“On Sept. 6, 1997 a well dressed young man came to our home stating that KVFI will you good returns if you will deposit rupees three hundred monthly. We three sisters were earning Rs1000/ per month at that time. We trusted the persons and agreed to open the account and deposited Rs5400/- in 18 months but later it proved all fraud and we could not get our hard earned money back” revealed Shaheena.
There are so many cases like this due to which the campaigners had to pull their all socks up to convince and educate the villagers about the crux of the project. Most of the innocent people of Kachan, Hakim-Gund, Gund-e-Rehman, Bagoo-Rampur, Ladwina villagers had been cheated like anything and huge sum of hard-earned money was gripped by some young men who were working for those fraud companies.
They deserve more care and confidence.
The ongoing mission in the villages of block Ganderbal reveal that rural artisans and farmers deserve more banking care and confidence while involving them with the basic fundamentals of financial inclusion. In a door-to-door canvassing of banking products and schemes some surprising chronicles came out from the villagers which put the campaigners under a hard test.
“I feel some doubt in your campaign because when we intend to attend your Branches, you are having very less time to attend us and today when we are busy with our work, you have got enough time to attend and motivate us”. At one point of time this was the statement of Mohammad Ramzan, resident of village Kachan, a willow wicker artisan, but after a detailed conversation he has something different to say. “Ok then but….how come we believe your authenticity and if you are not cheating us like many others have by collecting huge sum of money from our village with the promise that you will get your money doubled in just three years period”.
Both these statements carry a message to the Bank officials that innocent and illiterate villagers have been robbed baldy by many mischievous elements in the past and also they do not get enough time for awareness and extra customer care at the JK bank branches to whom they have their trust alive.
Chief Coordinator of the JK Bank’s ensuing project and bank’s public relations officer Mr. Khurshid Ahmad Pandit seems philosophical in saying that just like easily and more available food tastes less; easy earned money feels of less cost; a low cost luxury never looks a brand item, our great purpose of reaching out to all perhaps looks imaginary to the concerned rural masses. “Despite different type of hardships being faced in going village to village and door-to-door, we have been able to convince the people to a greater extant. Our marketing team has reached to twenty one villages of block Ganderbal so far during which more than nine hindered fresh accounts have been opened in these villages” says Khurshid A Pandit.
JK Bank’s Executive President Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad, who had inaugurated the project in Gutlibagh village on May 10, 2006 states that it is the ultimate success of our mission that people have responded overwhelmingly and it is also a fact that rural masses particularly the uneducated and rural artisans deserve more attention, care and confidence from our front line officials at the branches.
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Srinagar/ June 30 / Well before the Indian banking system could imagine a door-to-door banking concept, a virtual of its kind is going-on during a mission called “Reaching-out-to-all” launched by J&K Bank in Ganderbal rural block in district Srinagar. A real and practical banking, one could imagine in all difficult circumstances is being experienced during the mission and banking services are being provided beyond its boundaries, there, where one stands.
The programme has giving JK bank marketing officials a unique and unforgettable experience while putting severe efforts to visit every nook and corner of the villages of the block in order to educate, involve and motivate those people towards general banking who are uneducated, unaware, underprivileged rather unattended in our rural society.
One can see high paid bank officials sitting not on the revolving sophisticated chairs but……. officially doing banking sitting among the villagers, rural artisans and farmers on the rough surfaces, on any raised block, on the naked clay, uncouthly stones, door steps or on the handmade grassy mats.
The villagers at first sight would neither believe nor offer you a good place to sit on. Not like the villagers for whom the services are rendered are not hospitable or ill-cultured but they are made to think thousand times before they hear or respond any stranger or persons who call themselves as bank officials. They are really most hospitable, supportive and well-mannered but they have got a bitter experience in the past during late nineties when they have been cheated, misinformed and mislead by many people calling themselves as employees of so called banks / financers like Kashmir Valley Finance and Sunrise Investment Ltd.
Both these private companies (which were later banned) had their offices in length and breadth of the valley and they had engaged local youth in collecting money with the hollow words that their money will be doubled in just three years period of time while the money in other banks in those days was being doubled in not less than six years period.
Shaheena Akhtor a 27 year old girl, resident of village Ladhwina tullamulla couldn’t stop her tears when she showed a Recurring Deposit Passbook of Kashmir Valley finance and Investment (KVFI) Branch Tullamulla under account No. 149 to one of the officials of the JK Bank team. Her father had expired in 1996 and since the period is doing Aari knitting work along with her three sisters at her home.
“On Sept. 6, 1997 a well dressed young man came to our home stating that KVFI will you good returns if you will deposit rupees three hundred monthly. We three sisters were earning Rs1000/ per month at that time. We trusted the persons and agreed to open the account and deposited Rs5400/- in 18 months but later it proved all fraud and we could not get our hard earned money back” revealed Shaheena.
There are so many cases like this due to which the campaigners had to pull their all socks up to convince and educate the villagers about the crux of the project. Most of the innocent people of Kachan, Hakim-Gund, Gund-e-Rehman, Bagoo-Rampur, Ladwina villagers had been cheated like anything and huge sum of hard-earned money was gripped by some young men who were working for those fraud companies.
They deserve more care and confidence.
The ongoing mission in the villages of block Ganderbal reveal that rural artisans and farmers deserve more banking care and confidence while involving them with the basic fundamentals of financial inclusion. In a door-to-door canvassing of banking products and schemes some surprising chronicles came out from the villagers which put the campaigners under a hard test.
“I feel some doubt in your campaign because when we intend to attend your Branches, you are having very less time to attend us and today when we are busy with our work, you have got enough time to attend and motivate us”. At one point of time this was the statement of Mohammad Ramzan, resident of village Kachan, a willow wicker artisan, but after a detailed conversation he has something different to say. “Ok then but….how come we believe your authenticity and if you are not cheating us like many others have by collecting huge sum of money from our village with the promise that you will get your money doubled in just three years period”.
Both these statements carry a message to the Bank officials that innocent and illiterate villagers have been robbed baldy by many mischievous elements in the past and also they do not get enough time for awareness and extra customer care at the JK bank branches to whom they have their trust alive.
Chief Coordinator of the JK Bank’s ensuing project and bank’s public relations officer Mr. Khurshid Ahmad Pandit seems philosophical in saying that just like easily and more available food tastes less; easy earned money feels of less cost; a low cost luxury never looks a brand item, our great purpose of reaching out to all perhaps looks imaginary to the concerned rural masses. “Despite different type of hardships being faced in going village to village and door-to-door, we have been able to convince the people to a greater extant. Our marketing team has reached to twenty one villages of block Ganderbal so far during which more than nine hindered fresh accounts have been opened in these villages” says Khurshid A Pandit.
JK Bank’s Executive President Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad, who had inaugurated the project in Gutlibagh village on May 10, 2006 states that it is the ultimate success of our mission that people have responded overwhelmingly and it is also a fact that rural masses particularly the uneducated and rural artisans deserve more attention, care and confidence from our front line officials at the branches.
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