A large number of people gathered outside banks and ATMs on Thursday to withdraw their salaries, but only a few returned with cash. As the day progressed, there were no queues outside many banks as they had run out of cash.
“What good is a figure in my bank account when I need to spend half a day trying to withdraw it? India is not a cashless economy yet,” said Nikhil Jhadav, a lawyer who had lined up outside a bank in Khan Market.
In Preet Vihar, most banks ran out of money by noon. An HDFC ATM in the area ran dry within five hours. Navneet, the bank’s security guard, said people had started queuing up as early as 5.30 a.m. He added that the ATM had got cash after eight days.
The State Bank of India in the area had money till 2 p.m., but they had distributed tokens to a limited number of people and had told the rest to return. An SBI bank official at Mehrauli Road said there had been a 15-20 per cent increase in rush for withdrawals over the past two days and deposits had gone down over the past week.
Spike in demand
“The bank also supplies cash to post offices in the area and the officials said there had been an increase in demand for cash. The head post office in Gurugram demanded Rs.2 crore on Thursday, but was given only Rs.40 lakh,” said the official.
People who lined up outside Karnataka Bank in Laxmi Nagar seemed to lose their temper easily. When elderly people sat down midway, tired after standing for long, they were scoffed at by the others in the queue. Outside some banks, policemen were seen trying to pacify people.
The bustling Rajiv Chowk metro station had an odd augmentation in its never-ending crowd on the first day of the month. Over 100 people in the need for cash queued up at the State Bank of Patiala Money Shoppe at the station.
Long wait
“I have been waiting in this queue for over 90 minutes. I had to take a day off to withdraw money as there is no cash at home,” said Ajay Rem, an employee at the Life Insurance Corporation of India.
Suryakant Sen, an employee at Hindustan Unilever, complained of poor planning by the government.
“Connaught Place is a prime spot for Delhiites, but only a handful of ATMs are working there. Our government had an honest motive behind demonetisation, but the necessary facilities aren’t there. If this is the condition in the Capital even after three weeks, then the plight of the nation is worrisome,” said Mr. Sen, who later left the queue due to exhaustion.
Sameer Pal, 54, a transporter, complained of cash crunch across banks in Noida’s commercial enclave of Sector 18. “There was no cash in at least four branches that I visited. I stood in a queue for five hours to be able to withdraw only Rs. 10,000,” he said.
