Bhopal: The cash crisis in the state will end within ten days, claimed Central Bank of India, field general manager Ajay Vyas. A number of ATMs of public and private sector banks in the state capital have gone dry much to the distress of the citizens. The city has been witnessing long queues outside ATMs.
On Tuesday, RBI provided Rs 700 crore to banks and within 24 hours all the ATMs will be filled in the state, said Vyas while talking to Free Press on Wednesday. The cash crisis has occurred due to unexpected withdrawing pattern and major banks have appointed ‘cash managers’ to keep eye on the situation and also study the changing pattern, he elaborated.
There are around 9000 ATMs in the state and within 24 hours all will have surplus cash, he assured. He informed that there are no crises in banks and people approaching the branches are able to withdraw the desired amount conveniently. Following the cash crisis, the Central Bank of India have withdrawn the charges on deposits and cash handling from Wednesday.
Cash crisis worsened, queues get longer at ATMs
There was no respite for cash-starved people queuing up outside banks and ATMs as the cash crisis worsened in the city on Tuesday.Several ATMs are running dry following the unusual spurt in demand for currency.
Many of the ATMs displayed ‘No cash’ and ‘Out of service’ signs, forcing people to hop from one ATM to another in a desperate bid to get cash for daily need. Long queues were witnessed outside the ATMs, however a number of people had to leave disappointed.
To add to the woes, even the bank branches ran out of currency. While many of the ATMS have gone dry, even the cash deposit machines have been closed down. People said that they experienced that for last many days the cash in the ATMS was depleting but things got aggravated in last three days. People complained that shortage of cash was causing a lot of inconvenience and they are spending a lot of time standing in queues outside ATMs.
Free Press talked to some residents to know how cash shortage is affecting their lives.
Kunal Raj
I went to at least ten ATMs to withdraw Rs 2000 rupees in the MP Nagar area on Tuesday only to be left disappointed. The currency shortage is causing a lot of inconvenience as we are short of cash. We are left with very short amount in cash.
Khusboo Pawar
I went for shopping at New Market and tried withdrawing cash from ATM. I tried almost all the ATM’s at the market but in vain. Then finally, I borrowed money from one of my friends and did the shopping.
Bharat Belwanshi
I run a tea shop in Gautam Nagar area and require cash daily to purchase items for the shop and also have to give wages to my workers, however, things have come to a still. Due to shortage of cash all of us are facing a lot of problem.
Shweta Vatsa
One of my friends was admitted to hospital and we had to pay for his medicines and treatment. But after many failed attempts to withdraw cash from ATMs, we collected cash from friends and paid for his treatment.
