BENGALURU: It has been over 10 days since the demonetisation process started. Till date, over 32 per cent of ATMs in the country have been recalibrated to dispense the newly introduced Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000 notes.
Raviraj Sinha, chairman of the Cash Logistics Association of India, told The Hindu that out of the 2-lakh-odd ATMs in the country, over 65,000 have been recalibrated. “We are recalibrating nearly 14,000 ATMs per day. In a few more weeks, the job will be completed. We have roped in all the ATM engineers for this job. They are criss-crossing the country to complete this task,” he said.
Ever since the demonetisation process began, the 60,000-plus personnel in more than 10 cash logistics companies in the country have been busy transporting cash from the Reserve Banks of India to ATMs and banks.
“Like others, we also came to know about the scrapping of notes at the last moment. The RBI asked us to pull out all the Rs. 500 and Rs.1,000 notes from all ATMS. Most of these notes were in ATMs. We removed them in 72 hours,” he added.
Cash logistics companies are involved in three main steps — remove the demonetised cash from ATMs, recalibrate ATMs and replenish them. “Filling cash in ATMs is a continuous process. Each ATM is filled with cash amounting to Rs. 50 lakh. This way, people will be able to draw money much more easily,” he said.
The focus is on rural areas. “We are ensuring that cash reaches all the ATMs so that no one is put to difficulty,” he explained.
According to Mr. Sinha, in Bengaluru, M.G. Road is one of the top cash dispensing spots.
