Delhi: Payday chaos returns to haunt people

New Delhi: The ongoing cashless chaos fuelled the cash trouble furthermore on Friday when flaring tempers ran high amid scores of salaried people, hoouseholds and pensioners who had to return home empty handed with cash starved banks calling it closed for the day on Friday within three hours of operations. Both — nationalised and private — banks closed down their counters after their cash chests ran empty on day 2 of payday which even led to stray incident of minor scuffle in one of the private bank in South Delhi. Meanwhile, bankers complained that they had to resort to cash rationing as they got the cash much below to what they need.     

Despite the government’s claim of the sufficient inflow of cash to the banks, the prolonged cash crunch and the failure to keep the pace with the with the demand of cash has begun to test patience of lakhs of households who were waiting for long hours to withdraw the cash, but had to return empty handed.

Queued in line for over three hours, Vishal, a private company employee and a resident of Hauz Khas, expressed his anguish over cash crunch in the Bank of India, Hauz Khas branch. “I was queued in line since morning. But when my chance was about to come, the cashier told me to come tomorrow as the cash had finished. It’s painstaking to be lined-in for hours and then get to hear a no. Even the ATM machine is lying dead, as its dysfunctional and not dispensing cash.”

Similar situation was seen at Central Bank of India branch situated in Green Park where due to lack of cash availability many customers had to go back.

When asked about the cash strap situation, a bank employee at Central Bank of India on the condition of anonymity told the correspondent, “Since morning we have distributed over Rs 22 lakh cash. Now, there is no cash. One of our representatives has gone to arrange for it, but it will take time. We are trying to help as many customers as possible and have even kept aside Rs 5 lakh cash which is also known as convenience cash to give to our customers so that they don’t have to return home empty handed.”

The bankers claimed that they are trying to help maximum people by disbursing cash but they are bounded to ration the cash which has been made available to them else the number of people who will be returning home without withdrawal will be more.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed for sometime at Axis Bank branch in Green Park when a customer allegedly got involved in a verbal altercation with a bank employee and had a heated exchange of words. The situation turned ugly when one of the bank employees, managing the queue, reportedly threatened to slap the customer who had come to deposit cash.

The customer who refused to be named told the correspondent that the bank staff misguided him. He alleged, “I had come to deposit cash and was queued in the line. The staff member who was managing the queue asked me to go to first floor. But, when I went there I was asked to go back to the ground floor due to which I had to again queue up in the line. When I demanded to know from him as to why I was misguided, the staff member threatened to slap me.” However, the situation was soon brought under control after other employees intervened and apologised to the customer.

With long queues at banks and ATMs, frantic salaried people, pensioners, and households who need the cash now were seen hopping from one place to another and queuing up wherever they saw an ATM with cash.