Account holders travelling 15 Kms sans nationalised banks in these Odisha panchayats

Sundargarh: More than 1.5 lakh residents of the villages coming under four panchayats in Sundargarh district travel a distance of around 15 kilometres to carry out their banking transactions, as they do not have a nationalised bank in nearby areas.

The deprived panchayats are Mangaspur, Jogimal, Nialipali and Remanda, all under Tangarpali block.

Self-help groups (SHGs), beneficiaries of government schemes, pensioners and general customers face utter difficulties every day. The panchayats have over 400 SHGs. Although there is a private bank in Mangaspur, it is unable to cater to the needs of the residents. “Availability of banking services at our doorsteps is like daydreaming for us,” some villagers namely Subham Mohapatra, Benumadhab Pruseth, Suryakanta Mandodari, Arun Patel and Sushil Kumar Sahoo alleged.

Notably, the locals today met District Collector Gavali Parag Harshad and handed over a memorandum to him demanding ATM facilities in the panchayats.