ATMs in East UP run out of Rs 500, 1000 notes

A senior PSU bank official while speaking to Millennium Post confirmed the shortage and said that one of the reasons could be the ongoing panchayat elections in Bihar.  

The official said that politicians are known to dole out liquor and money during election season. "Since liquor has already been banned in Bihar, it is highly possible that politicians from Bihar may have been withdrawing the money from UP to lure the voters in their home state,” the official said. The ongoing Panchayat elections in Bihar will end on May 30. 

A senior zonal officer of Uttar Pradesh Gramin Bank told Millennium Post that the banks are really under massive pressure due the shortage of large denomination notes. The banker said that it was not the first time they were facing this problem. 

“Demand for big currency notes are always high during the month-long marriage season. However, this year the demand of big currencies is such that the banks could meet only 20 per cent of total requested amount,” said the official. He further said that the only difference that he could see this year was the high demand for big currencies and the parallel elections that were happening in the neighboring state. 

A senior Bihar police official confirmed the report of distribution of money during the ongoing election in the State. “So far, we have come across only one such incident where a candidate was reported to have distributed money. The case was reported in Meenapur police station. We are investigating the case,” the police official said. He further said that police was closely monitoring the movement of people close to politicians who arrange for the cash. 

Speaking on the coordination between banks and police in election season, the official said the bank transactions are being monitored by the income tax department and police are just monitoring the fund movements based on local inputs.