Cash-starved citizens run into cash-strapped banks

On a day when ATMs were supposed to provide cash-strapped citizens some relief after being shut for two days, banks fell short as ATMs were either shut down before noon when they ran out of cash, or did not open at all. As a result, harrowed citizens had to form long queues outside banks for a second successive day to exchange their 500 and 1000 rupee notes, with some returning empty-handed.

"I have been to four ATMs. All of them had run out of cash. I was forced to exchange notes, but for the past two hours, there has been little movement in the line," said D Ahmed, who stood in a long queue outside Bank of India close to Eros Theatre. The bank's ATM shutter was down because there was no money fed into it. "We kept calling people to fill the ATM with cash, but there was no response," said Senior Manager, Bank of India at Churchgate, PG Bakhare.

"If we do not get cash, what will we feed into the ATMs? We are giving what we have, which is mostly Rs 2,000 notes."

The ATMs at Tilak Nagar were also shut due to a system upgrade."The ATM mechanism needs to be changed in order for it to accept and calculate smaller denomination notes. The IT team will also change the mechanism to ensure the machine is able to dispense the new Rs 2,000 notes. We are working on it to ensure the ATM dispenses cash soon," said the officials.

The ATMs of Saraswat Bank, one of the larger co-operative banks, were also shut on Friday. A senior bank official, Jitendra Talekar, said, "We haven't yet received cash for the ATMs. A number of customers have been visiting the ATM since morning to withdraw money. They are all hoping to get Rs 100 denomination notes. We understand customers woes, but the ATM can only be made functional after we receive cash."

However, those who were dispensed Rs 2,000 notes believe they will have problems using them for smaller transactions. "The IDFC ATM dispensed only Rs 2,000 notes. The new Rs 500 notes were not circulated. It is good to feel the new note, but we cannot use it. People are not willing to give change for Rs 500 and Rs 1000. How can you expect them to give us change for Rs 2,000," said Kaushik Patil.

The HDFC bank ATM in Dadar remained closed on Friday

Like Patil, there were those who stood in queues for Rs 100 notes so that they could pay for restaurant bills, buy groceries or fruits or even daily essentials like toothpaste and toothbrushes. However, none of them got to see Rs 100 notes.

Some people who did not have debit or credit cards met up with friends to deposit their notes into their friend's accounts through ATMs. "I am depositing money into my friends account so that we can use the debit card to make purchases," said Devang Chaudhury, a student. But that too was of little solace.

Some citizens found themselves stuck in serpentine queues as some banks did not have separate lines for deposits, and ATMs did not accept deposits. "I have been waiting in the line for over an hour, and have barely moved. Unlike most people, I have to deposit money and do not seek to change the notes. Why should I wait behind people who want to withdraw money?" said Prakash Raj, who was stuck in the queue. The bank could not manage the queue as there was those asking to exchange notes, while others were depositing money. It decided to scrap separate lines and merge them. Hiral Shah, who waited outside a State Bank of India branch said,"Things were better organised at some banks. They gave tea and bottled water to people. There are a lot of things they can do to ease problems faced by citizens."