About 50 per cent of the Automatic Teller Machines run by the banks are vulnerable to the attacks on women and elderly customers in Vijayawada city, as they are operated without security guards.
Most private banks are hiring private security guards to protect the machines, cash as well as the customers. But, some nationalised banks are not appointing security guards at their ATMs.
The ATMs became very handy to lakhs of customers. So, the banks are issuing ATM cards to the customers and trying to maintain cash balance at each ATM round the clock.
In Vijayawada city nearly 150 ATM centres are rendering services to the customers. Due to change of lifestyle and needs, customers including women are going to the ATM centres to draw money even up to 10 and 11 pm.
But, some incidents like attack on a woman customer at the ATM centre in Bengaluru created panic among women customers and elderly customers, who are prone to the attacks by miscreants.
K Vani, a school teacher said some times she feels apprehensive to visit the ATM when security guards are not present. This type of problem is more where two ATM machines are installed in one centre. Some banks install two ATM machines and some banks install only one.
Andhra Bank, which is very popular in Vijayawada has security guards at all ATM centres in Vijayawada. The deputy General Manager Ravi Kumar of Andhra Bank, said ‘We try to post security guards at all our ATMs for the safety of cash, machines and the customers.”
The hired guards work on behalf of private agencies. Some nationalised banks with thousands of customers in Vijayawada have not appoint the security guards at the ATM centres. The banks generally insure the cash, machinery and material and thus least bothered about the safety of the customers, who are vulnerable.
Most customers do not know whether the CC cameras installed in ATM centres are functioning or out of order. K Prakash, a bank customer said what is the use of installing cameras without taking measures to protect the customers. He said most nationalised banks do the business worth hundreds of crores and capable of appointing the security guards at the ATM centres to protect the machinery as well as the customers, particularly women customers.
The commissioner of police, Vijayawada, B Srinivasulu is insisting that the banks take all kinds of precautionary measures to protect the safety of customers. He also suggested the banks to install CC cameras in and outside the banks since cases of grabbing the cash bags from the customers are reported in city during the last few years.
Interestingly, most security guards appointed by the banks at ATM centres are young and trained to handle the problems.
More than 90 per cent of the ATM centres in Vijayawada city are installed on main roads and important junctions. So far no major untoward incident reported in the ATM centres in and around Vijayawada city in recent years. But, the customers are asking the bankers to post security guards due to increase of crime against women, robberies, attacks and other types of offences.
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