What you see is what you get, The queue at this Bank of Baroda branch in Modi's constituency of Varanasi is pathetic: this branch is located in Pilikothi in the Kotwali area of the city, see the map
Even as hyperbole on De-Monetization hogs the discourse, here is what a Bank Queue looks like in the PM Narendra Modi’s Constituency. This is the Bank of Baroda and the area is home to thousands of weavers, many though not all belonging to the underprivileged sections.
These photographs were taken on December 13 and 14, 2016 that is on the 35th and 36th Day After De-Monetization. The complaints were angry and shrill. Every night at midnight of a new day, the queues form, there are anywhere from 300-450 people in the queue all night. It is winter when the minimum termperature drops to 9-10 degrees centigrade.
The Bank opens at 11 a.m. The process is slow and excruciating. Few persons, get cash, much less than what is their due. At 2 p.m. they are told there is no cash left. The relentless cycle continues and has been continuing.
If this is the state of some of the banks at least in the PM’s constituency of eastern Uttar Pradesh, what of the rest of India, not accessible to the urban camera lens or eye?
Images: Teesta Setalvad