The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is requested to fulfill the senior citizens’ following request. He should ensure that all the nationalised, cooperative and the other private banks must offer zero balance facility to the savings account holders, at least, to the senior citizens. My wife is a senior citizen (age 63) having a savings account with the ICICI Bank, wherein minimum balance to be kept is Rs. 5,000/-. We, the senior citizens also have a joint savings account in a nationalised bank where we are compelled to maintain minimum balance of Rs. 500/- and Rs. 1000/- in the other nationalised bank. Again, we both senior citizens have a savings account in a cooperative bank where we have to maintain minimum balance of Rs. 1000. We both are not earning a regular monthly income. Nor we are ‘Lakhpati’ and consequently, in these days of nearly hyper food inflation we cannot withdraw even a single rupee from our own hard earned savings lying with the banks even in case of small or big emergencies. Thus, we become helpless and have to borrow even a small amount from our neighbour, relative or friend against our desire. In such situations of small emergencies we feel embarrassed due to self-respect. Such conditions force many people to take extreme steps, including suicide.
Hansraj Bhat
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
