The Samaikyandhra agitation left the denizens of temple town and also the pilgrims cash-strapped.
Almost all the ATM centres in the temple town have closed down due to non-availability of cash in them. Even if funds are available at some centres, the bank authorities are keeping them closed fearing attack by agitators.
With the agitation gaining momentum in the temple town as well as other parts of Chittoor district, there seems to be no solution for the serious problem in the next couple of days.
Since the bandh began on July 31, the banking services were badly hit. The absence of banking services has not only affected those involved in regular transactions but also to those the government and private employee dependant on their salaries as it is first week of the month.
The bankers as well as the private agencies, which fill cash in ATMs of various banks, chose to shut down in the past few days. Apart from people in Tirupati, the worst hit are the pilgrims.
“People have almost given up the habit of carrying money due to availability of ATMs everywhere. The ATMs here are either closed or have run out of cash. Away from home, whom do we ask for money here?,’’ asked Ramana, a pilgrim from Narasapur.
Asked about the fate of ATMs, a bank official said that they are not going to take any risk by opening the banks and ATMs until the relaxation of bandh.