Bank closure in many parts of India escalates 6-day cash crisis

New Delhi/Chennai, Nov 14: Banks across several states remained closed today being a public holiday further escalating the six-day cash crisis following the withdrawal of high-value notes and exacerbating the agony of those in desperate need to get even small amounts of money.

Though banks were open mainly in the southern states there was no relief for people as they had to wait for hours to get new notes or deposit the scrapped currency.

Cash-strapped people started making a beeline outside ATMs from early morning but with limited success as most of the cash vending machines are running dry and weren't refilled with money.

People queued up outside ATMs early in the morning but had to return disappointed as shutters at many locations were down amid growing scuffles and heated exchanges. Today was a holiday on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti.

Patience of citizens wore thin as people continued to face hardship in withdrawing cash from ATMs, braving long queues, accessing health facilities at hospitals and commuting in public transport in the national capital on a bank holiday that added to their woes.

Many sections of the society including grocery shop owners, small traders, restaurant owners, are further feeling the heat as their dependence on cash is very high.

Commuters also had a harrowing time, as lack of Rs 100 notes continued to cripple transaction with taxi operators, auto-rickshaw drivers and other public transport providers.

A pre-paid city-run taxi counter at Delhi Airport, which other wise draws good number of passengers, today wore a deserted look.

"People are not coming to book 'kali-pili' taxis with us, as they do not have ready cash, and we are not in a position to accept Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 notes," a staff at the counter said.

"This is becoming unbearable now. How long can we afford to be in the queue to get money which we toiled to earn. My family is on the verge of starvation," said Damodar Kamble, who tried his luck to exchange money this morning at an ATM in suburban Vikhroli in Mumbai.

Many customers made it to ATMs as early as 5 AM in anticipation of procuring few precious Rs 100 notes. There were also reports that many ATMs ran out of cash within hours of becoming operational.

A housewife in Kurla, Shweta, said, "This has become a horror. It's sad..people are dying, fighting while waiting in queues."

Banks and ATMs across Tamil Nadu continued to witness long queues of people waiting to exchange defunct Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and withdraw cash today even as bankers and post office personnel struggled to ease the situation.

Angry customers who were waiting for long hours to withdraw cash, pelted stones at an ATM in suburban Ponneri in Chennai as it ran out of cash, police said.

In Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took stock of the prevailing situation in the state in the wake of demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes by the central government.

 

Earlier post:

Queues get longer at ATMs as banks remain shut in many parts of country

New Delhi, Nov 14: With banks closed in many parts of the country, cash-strapped people started making beeline outside ATMs from early morning but with limited success as most of cash vending machines are running dry.

Scuffle and heated exchanges were reported from ATMs and banks from many parts of the country. Many sections of the society including small traders, restaurant owners, transporters etc started feeling the heat as the dependence on cash is very high.

Banks are unable to service as heavy rush making it difficult to handle the situation. After government isued advisory banks have started making special arrangement for elderly and physically challenged.

In a bid to provide convenience to people, the Centre yesterday eased key restrictions including raising daily withdrawal limit from bank accounts and ATMs as well as increased the amount of old and now defunct currency notes that can be exchanged.

To augment cash supplies, newly printed hard-to-fake Rs 500 notes were also released in market. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night announced the surprise demonetisation of higher denomination notes.

After a review by Finance ministry, the limit of old and now defunct Rs 500 and 1,000 notes that can be exchanged for freshly minted Rs 2,000 and a new Rs 500 notes was increased from Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 yesterday. Cash withdrawal limit at ATMs was hiked to Rs 2,500 from Rs 2,000 a day.