About 85,000 officers, employees and workers in 5,000 branches of banks in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will go on a strike on Wednesday, opposing merger of Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank and demanding recovery of huge bad loans from corporate defaulters.

As a result, banking transactions and ATM operations will come to a standstill from 6 AM on Wednesday to 6 AM on Thursday, according to the United Forum of Bank Unions, which gave the nationwide strike call.

A demonstration would be held and procession taken out by bank staff from the local head office of the SBI on Bank Street. The unions protested against the merger at a time when banking operations should have been expanded. The strike was a result of the failure of negotiations by unions with the Central government and the Labour department.