CHENNAI: Bank customers have been having a harrowing time in withdrawing cash with several ATMs in the city yet to open. Those that remained open were shut within 45 minutes due to unavailability of shelves to cater to the new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 currencies.
It was for the second consecutive day on Saturday that ATMs in several parts of the city were not functional. People who wanted to avoid standing in long queues in front of banks to exchange demonetised currencies were waiting for ATMs and cash depositing machines to start functioning. Currently, ATMs are being provided with only Rs 100 currency as the machines do not have the shelves to cater to the new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denominations. This could mean the ATMs will have to be tinkered to fit in the new currencies to meet people’s demands, said a bank official.
N Kamakodi, City Union Bank Managing Director, while stressing the need for people to try out digital wallets, said one-third of the bank’s ATMs were functioning. He also said grocery shops, which are dependent on cash transactions, should change over to point of sale devices. “We should first create an infrastructure for cashless transaction before embarking on such mission,” he said.
As people do not have cash, hotels, Koyambedu wholesale market and grocery stores have been affected. The usually busy shopping centres have become desolate as people are trying to save the precious Rs 100 notes after Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 became defunct.