ELURU: The cash situation after demonetisation of higher value notes has not returned to normalcy yet. It is evident with the reappearance of ‘No Cash’ boards at majority of ATMs in West Godavari district in the past few days. People of the district faced severe hardships due to acute cash crunch in the aftermath of demonetisation of `1,000 and `500 notes.
At a time when people started feeling that the cash situation improved following removal of curbs on withdrawals from ATMs and bank accounts, the cash crunch resurfaced.
There are about 680 ATMs of different banks in the district. The number of ATMs in Eluru city is 85. There are 12 Reserve Bank of India chests in the district and of them eight belong to State Bank of India (SBI). According to the bank officials, the district gets `100 crore every Monday for its weekly cash needs.
M Krishna Murthy of Western Street who could not withdraw money from ATMs of SBI and other banks despite several attempts, said: “People are experiencing cash crunch again as ‘No Cash’ boards are greeting them at many ATMs in recent days. Some bank officials also expressed their helplessness in this regard.”
K Srinivas, a customer of a private bank, said: “I could not get Rs 5,000 despite several attempts. Most of the bank ATMs are either closed or displaying ‘No Cash’ boards. I am facing severe cash crunch.”
Admitting shortage of cash in banks, District Lead Bank Manager M Subrahmanyeswara Rao said: “The matter has already been taken to the notice of Reserve Bank of India. It is likely to send cash to the district within two days.
The decline in bank deposits is also one of the reasons for the shortage of liquid cash. The money problem is only a temporary phenomenon. The cash situation is likely to improve in a few days.”