Normalcy has returned to urban areas in the district almost three weeks after the Centre demonetised high-value notes.
However, there is no end to rush at scheduled commercial banks, many of which functioned till late in the evening on Friday. Banks will remain closed on Saturday and Sunday. Even though they have been exempted from the dawn-to-dusk hartal on Monday, services are likely to be hit.
Meanwhile, long queues have almost disappeared from ATM counters, with most machines dispensing only Rs.2,000 notes. The situation is likely to stabilise in a couple of days, bankers said.
Lead Bank Manager (Kozhikode) K. Bhuvanadas said 60 per cent of ATMs across the district had been recalibrated for dispensing Rs.500 and Rs.2,000 notes. “People are hoarding cash as a result of which there is no transaction in the market. This has led to shortage of cash,” he said.
The district has around 400 ATMs of all leading nationalised and commercial banks. “Most banks have enough cash for customers. However, no data is available on the currency chest with banks and dispensation of cash at each branch. Some banks handle over Rs.30 lakh a day,” Mr. Bhuvanadas added. On the other hand, rural areas are the worst hit, thanks to shortage of currency notes. However, the situation has improved since the Centre stopped the over-the-counter exchange of defunct currency notes. The decision to extend the use of Rs.500 notes for public utility services till December 15 has been a huge relief to people.
Meanwhile, banking services have almost come to a standstill in the cooperative sector. Primary cooperative banks and cooperative societies that do not come under the Banking Regulation Act wore a deserted look on Friday after the RBI imposed stringent regulations on their functioning.
