Long queues return as ATMs run dry

New Delhi: There was no let-up of long queues outside ATMs with a large number of Delhiites struggling outside money dispensing machines to withdraw currency notes on the weekends in the national capital.

With banks rolling down their shutters in wake of the three-day holidays, the city witnessed a few ATM kiosks belonging to the State Bank of India coming to the rescue of people and dispensing cash in areas like Shastri Bhawan and Central Secretariat. In time of crisis, bank holidays for three consecutive days may have further deepened the woes of people amid existing cash crunch situation.

‘No cash’ sign was displayed on most of the cash kiosk centres in the city. The banks like Kotak Mahindra bank, HDFC bank, Bank of Baroda, Dhanlakshmi Bank, UBI, to name a few, ran out of cash. “I have been doing the rounds of the ATM centers for three days and couldn’t get any cash. Every time I go to the bank, they say ‘cash is over, com-e tomorrow.’ The trend has been continuing and I don’t see any end to the problem,” rued Abhay Narang, a businessman. However, for Raghunath Rawat, an employee with a cloth shop, the timely news of an ATM being replenished with cash proved fruitful.

 “I thank my stars that after a long wait of over two days, I managed to get  cash. The situation is turning grim as the days are passing because for petty things like buying tea or getting a deflated tyre fixed, we cannot swipe card,” he added.With Monday being Id-e-Milad, and bank’s currency chests running dry for the last few days, it will be a herculean task for bankers to cater to lakhs of people who are struggling to withdraw cash on Tuesday.

Kiosks of ICICI Bank in Lajpat Nagar, Vijaya Bank in Laxmi Nagar, SBI in Central Secret-ariat, Shastri Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan, and Mayur Vihar phase 1 came to the rescue of people.

While a long queue was seen at Central Secretariat around 1.30 pm, people were lined ahead of the SBI ATM kiosk in Krishi Bhawan on Sunday noon.