Banks shut, ATM woes persist

With banks remaining shut on Sunday, there was a mad rush at ATMs across the country.

Shortage of cash continued to trouble people in the national capital on  Sunday, the second Sunday post demonetisation, which saw banks shut and ATMs running dry in most places.

In many areas, people, in desperate need of short change, ran from one ATM to the other, with few managing to withdraw and the rest left dejected as machines emptied out before their turn.

At places, queues formed up within minutes of news spreading word of mouth that cash was being dispensed at a particular ATM.

“I went looking for cash at an ATM in Central Delhi. As soon as I entered the details, there was deduction from my account but the machine did not disburse any cash,” Jheelum Mitra, an IT professional, said.

With banks across the country closed on Sunday, people rushed for cash withdrawal at the ATMs where long queues were seen in Mumbai.

Many of the ATMs in the city and suburbs were working, providing some relief to customers wanting to withdraw small cash. Also, many people managed to withdraw money from some ATMs till late last night.

But Vin Rana, a model and actor in the city, said despite being in queue for two hours on Sunday, he did not manage to withdraw cash as the ATM machine stopped by the time his turn came.

Mamta, a resident of Virar suburb in neighbouring Palghar district, said that people were withdrawing money till late Saturday night in her area and chairs were provided to those standing in queues at the ATMs.

In Kolkata, people were shocked when they went to local markets with a small amount of money to buy vegetables as they found that the prices had suddenly gone up. 

The price of gourd went up by Rs 6 per kg. On Saturday it was sold at Rs 24 per kg. Similarly, the price of brinjal and cucumber had gone up to Rs 40 and Rs 32 per kg.