MYSURU: Shivanna (60) of Doora village arrived at Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank as early as 9am on Friday. There were already some 50 people waiting in queue outside the bank. His turn came around 1.30pm but the bank refused to give any cash. They told him that he cannot withdraw cash before December 22 as he had withdrawn `10,000 on November 23. Shivanna was heartbroken as he urgently required the money for an MRI scan of his brother-in-law who is admitted to a hospital in Mysuru. “What will I do now? Who will give me cash? Despite pleading, the bank staff did not heed to my requests,” he said.
People in villages in the district are queuing up outside banks as early as 4am. There are few or no ATMs in the rural areas.
An employee of Bank of India in Udburu village near Mysuru said that the bank gets just `10 lakh cash a day which is less than half their requirement. The cash is equally distributed among most of the customers to ensure that people do not return empty-handed. Even then, there are people who do not get any cash, he added.
It is testing times for the bank staff in many villages. Despite issuing tokens, people do not stand in line, making it difficult to manage the crowd, he added.