Prone to eve-teasing in ATM & bank lines, say NCR women

The demons of demonetisation haunt ladies standing in long endless zigzag queues outside banks and ATMs of Noida and Ghaziabad. Some even reported of getting groped and assaulted in the crowd. The mismanagement of the administration with no separate lines for ladies invites these mischievous activities, making the women of society vulnerable to such acts.  Some get pushed unnecessarily while some get touched or pinched by miscreants, allege the women. These incidents mostly take place in the semi-urban or backward areas of the town. Constantly staring at women while standing in queues is commonly practiced by some men with a dirty mindset.

Some women from Noida and Ghaziabad told Millennium Post that they had faced harassment while standing in long queues outside ATMs and banks. A victimised lady from Ghaziabad said: “While standing in a long and crowded queue outside Bank of Baroda in Loni, Ghaziabad, some men were unnecessarily pushing the line forward and I got pinched twice by an unknown man which even gave me contusion. I somehow managed to catch the moron and he got beaten up by the crowd and was handed over to the police.” 

Another incident happened on Friday outside the branch of a government bank in Khora Colony, Noida, when the crowd went violent after the bank closed their operations for the day and refused to serve the people waiting in the queue. The crowd started protesting outside the bank and some guys began physically attacking people who tried to stop them. A 32-year-old lady was unfortunately standing in the queue when the crowd turned violent. “I almost got choked in the crowd. I also got some bruises in my left hand and fell down as the crowd turned very violent. I was also hit in the stomach. There was even a cop on the road outside but he simply kept watching and did not do anything,” the woman said.  

Kanica Dhar, an HR professional said she had also faced eve-teasing in an ATM queue but there was very little help. The same was cited by many other women who were subjected to such mischievous activities but hardly any action was taken, allege the women in general.