Banks in April will remain closed for 14 days on account of national holidays, weekly offs and regional holidays.
This will bring some respite to the banking officials who have been working tirelessly in the 21-day lockdown called to stop the spread of coronavirus pandemic.
As banks will remain closed for 14 days, one is well advised to maintain necessary cash reserve at home and also complete other banking needs on time to meet utility payments.
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According to the holiday listed in Reserve Bank of India (RBI) website, Indian banks will remain closed for 14 days including various festivals.
During the holidays, ATMs may also not always disburse cash and hence people are requested to keep some cash in hand for an emergency.
Here is the full list of Bank Holidays in April 2020:
April 1- Annual closing of banks
April 2- Ram Navami
April 6- Mahavir Jayanti
April 10- Good Friday
April 11- Second Saturday
April 13- Bohag Bihu/Cheiraoba/Baisakhi
April 14- Ambedkar Jayanti/Bengali New Year’s Day/Tamil New Year’s Day/Bohag Bihu/Vishu
April 15- Bohag Bihu/Himachal Day
April 20- Garia Puja
April 25- Parshuram Jayanti
Besides these 10 holidays, there will be 4 Sundays, which will be regular weekly offs for banking staff.
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Bank officials have asked its customers to make sure that they are well equipped with cash during the holidays.
"We know the situation in the nation is not good. We will require liquid cash on hand. One must keep some cash. Digital payment systems may also not work in the holidays," said a bank official.
"Banks and banking services are an integral part of our daily life. We will have to keep ourself abreast with the testing times. These are common holidays of the banks but at this crisis situation, we generally tend to forget about the common holidays as banks are operating. We will have to keep the holidays in mind," said a Guwahati resident.
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