Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS): Over 150,000 bank employees in Maharashtra joined the nationwide banking strike, paralysing all financial operations in the country's commercial capital, to demand redressal of various pending demands, a union official said here on Tuesday.

The strike has hit all the 42,000 branches of 21 public sector banks, including the monolithic State Bank Of India and IDBI, 18 old generation banks, eight foreign banks and 56 Regional Rural Banks in Mumbai and Maharashtra, said All Indian Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) leader Vishwas Utagi.

"All cheque clearing operations, financial transactions and other routine daily banking functions are stopped today due to the strike. Many ATMs, which are now functional, may run out of cash by noon as there will be no replenishment," Utagi told IANS.

He described the day-long strike as "total" with the whole-hearted participation of over a million bank employees in 125,000 branches across the country.