Bricks and stones replace farmers at bank queues as they head to the fields

Villagers in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand have found an innovative way to manage paddy sowing without losing out in the serpentine queues outside banks.

Villagers in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand have found an innovative way to manage paddy sowing without losing out in the serpentine queues outside banks.

Farmers place bricks with their names written on them in front of a bank in Ramgarh. They take their place in queue when the bank opens.(HT Photo)

The farmers, who are gearing up for rabi season, write their names on bricks and boulders in chalk and place them outside the banks before going to their fields. Once the banks open, they take their position in the queue.

The practice avoids the hassle of standing in the queue for hours. In several areas, it’s an unspoken rule that the bricks can be moved only by the person who placed them. Interestingly, nobody trespasses or breaks the queue.

“For the past one week, I could not exchange money as there was a long queue outside the banks and work was pending in the field. When I came to know about this unique idea, I too put a stone in line and went to work. I reached the bank counter minutes before my turn came,” said Ganesh Mahto, a local farmer.

Similarly, a few customers are hiring local youth for Rs 100-Rs 200 to wait in queues on their behalf. “We used this method to get water from a government water tanker during summers. Now, we are using it at bank counters too,” said Kuliya Karmali from Rajrappa.

Dinbandhu Poddar, a local representative of MP Jayant Sinha, said: “We are distributing tea and biscuits to people in queues. We assure all help to senior citizens.”