After three days of holiday, Tuesday started on a chaotic note for the bank employees in the Capital. Hours before the banks started their operations, hundreds of people queued up outside their gates hoping to withdraw money. Not surprisingly, the cash was over and the crowds were left dejected in most of the banks which The Hindu visited in the afternoon.
Connaught Place
It was the first time that the banks were shut this long after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes. Since many of the ATMs were not refilled over the weekend, there were serpentine queues outside them as well. Around 3 p.m. in Connaught Place, there were around 100 people waiting in the queue outside ICICI bank ATM in A-block. In the same block, the Punjab National Bank ATM was temporarily shut down while the Oriental Bank of Commerce ATM had run out of cash.
“The urban centres are facing more inconvenience than the rural areas. If the daily withdrawal limit is increased to Rs. 5,000, the situation will improve,” said Nandita, a law student from Assam, waiting for her turn for about 40 minutes outside the ICICI ATM.
Jitender, a Delhi resident, said the government is taking necessary steps, but the banks are not cooperating with the customers. “This policy can be a major success in catching black money hoarders. The common man will not face any problems if the banking sector (public and private) is supportive,” he remarked.
East of Kailash
There was a general sense of chaos at Raja Dheer Sen Marg in East of Kailash, which has branches of most banks, including ICICI, HDFC and Axis Bank along with their ATMs. Within an hour after the banks opened, the area was packed with people seeking to withdraw cash. Although, the ATMs usually get cash in the night, on Tuesday, the Axis Bank ATM started dispensing cash by mid-morning. As a result, the queue stretched up to the road affecting the traffic.
Vikas Marg
On the Vikas Marg, where there are more than 20 banks on both sides of the road within a stretch of 5 km, there were hardly any queues around 1:30 p.m. as most of the banks had run out of cash. “People queued up from 6 a.m. while the bank opened at 9 a.m. By 10:30 am, the cash was over,” said Navdeep, the guard outside HDFC Bank, Preet Vihar Branch.
Cash was available at State Bank of India branch on Vikas Marg. Shalu Malik, a resident of Patparganj, said she went hoping to withdraw Rs. 24,000 through cheque, but the bank gave her only Rs. 10,000. “The bank officials said there are many people in the queue and I cannot get Rs. 24,000 as there is limited cash.”
Varun Jain, a resident of Preet Vihar said his turn had come around 11:30 a.m., and the bank officials told those standing in queue that they had only Rs. 87,000 left with them. “I had gone with a blank signed cheque and filled the amount depending on the cash available with the bank.”
(The writers are interns with The Hindu)
