PRAYAGRAJ, Jan. 28 -- Banking operations remained suspended on Tuesday in Prayagraj as employees and officers of government and private sector banks observed a one-day strike. The strike was called by the United Forum of Bank Unions, Prayagraj, to protest the non-implementation of a five-day banking workweek. The strike was part of a nationwide protest call which had been given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine major banking unions representing nearly nine lakh employees and officers across the country. The strike followed a three-day holiday, resulting in a prolonged disruption of banking services. Branches of major banks, including the State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Indian Bank and others, shut down their operations by pulling down shutters and locking main gates by 10 am. Bank employees staged protests outside their respective branches, holding placards that read "Today is Strike." Customers and traders who were unaware of the strike faced severe inconvenience. Many people arrived at the banks to withdraw cash, while traders came to deposit or clear cheques that were scheduled for Monday. Businessman Sudhir Kumar Gupta said that due to the non-clearance of cheques, his company was denied cash discount benefits. Shivanshu Kesarwani and Anurag Jaiswal also returned disappointed after reaching their banks with cheques. Security guards outside the banks informed customers that services would resume the next day following the strike. At the SBI Triveni Branch, employees halted work and held a meeting within the premises. A large number of customers gathered outside the main gate until 11 am but left disappointed after seeing the branch locked. Prayagraj lead bank manager Mani Prakash Mishra said that transactions worth approximately Rs.300 crore were affected due to the one-day strike. Meanwhile, Vinay Agrahari, president of the UP Gramin Bank Officers Association, claimed that business worth nearly Rs.500 crore was impacted across all branches and regional offices in the district. After locking their respective branches and holding meetings, bank employees marched on foot and on two-wheelers to join a larger protest meeting at the main branch of Indian Bank in Civil Lines. Addressing the gathering, union district convenor Madanji Upadhyay said that a five-day work system is already in place in the insurance sector, NABARD, the Reserve Bank of India and SEBI, and the government must fulfil the same demand for banks. PNBPEU UP deputy general secretary Shashikant Srivastava said that the demands of bank employees have been ignored for the past two years....