Jammu, Oct 8: On April 18, 2023, the Union Minister of State in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh announced that seven new J&K Bank branches were approved for Kathua district in response to a requirement list submitted by his parliamentary office to the bank’s Chairman.
Duggan and Lowang areas of Bani were among seven locations besides Dhar Mahanpur, Hatt, Chakra, Budhi and Sheetal Nagar (Bhoond) for new J&K Bank branches approved for Kathua district, as per the announcement shared by the Union Minister, also an MP from the area.
Three years on, people of Lowang, Duggan and surrounding areas have still been waiting for the opening of these bank branches.
The status of Jammu and Kashmir Bank branches announced for these areas (Lowang and Duggan in Bani) remains unclear, with a recent RTI response from the bank stating that the two locations do not figure in its list of approved branch locations “as on date and as per the available records.”
However, Dr Jitendra on April 18, 2023, while sharing a list of the locations where these branches would be opened in Kathua, had tweeted, “In response to the requirement list submitted by our Parliamentary office to Chairman Jammu & Kashmir Bank # JKB, Sh Baldev Prakash for the location at which there was a public demand for a bank branch, the following 7 branches have been approved for district # Kathua.”
Union Minister of State in PMO had also mentioned that an ATM counter would come up at Sheetal Nagar (Bhoond).
But in response to an RTI application filed on September 1, 2026, the J&K Bank has stated that, as on October 6, 2026, “the locations mentioned in the application do not figure in the list of approved branch locations.”
The RTI applicant had sought certified copies of the 2023 approval, order and proposal, the relevant file number and details of the competent authority, the present status of the proposed branches, reasons for non-establishment if they were not operational, details of premises, ATM, CRM proposals and action taken on subsequent government communications.
The issue was also raised at the government level in 2025.
On March 22, 2025, Bani MLA Dr Rameshwar Singh wrote to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seeking J&K Bank branches along with ATMs at locations including Lowang and Duggan. In his letter, he cited the lack of banking facilities and the difficulties being faced by residents.
Subsequently, on April 7, 2025, the Chief Minister’s Office forwarded the MLA’s communication to the Chairman of J&K Bank, requesting that the matter be considered for appropriate action.
The latest RTI response has dismayed Bani residents.
Mudasar Ali, a social activist from Bani, said the latest RTI response made it important for the bank and the concerned authorities to clarify what happened to the 2023 announcement.
“People of Lowang, Duggan and surrounding areas have been waiting for improved banking facilities for years. If the branches were approved in 2023, the public deserves to know what happened subsequently. If the proposals were later deferred, cancelled, relocated or otherwise changed, the reasons and relevant records should be made clear,” he said.
Bani residents added that the issue was not merely about opening bank branches but also about ensuring access to essential banking services for people living in remote and hilly areas.
The RTI response, however, did not state that the 2023 announcement was cancelled.
It only says that, according to the bank’s available records as on October 6, 2026, Lowang and Duggan do not figure in the list of approved branch locations.
The latest response therefore leaves a key question unanswered: What is the status of the Lowang and Duggan branch proposals announced in 2023?
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