Bank branches saw orderly queues following restrictions imposed by the government, but chaos at ATMs continues with most of them running out of money .
Despite the government announcement allowing withdrawals of Rs 2.5 lakhs for weddings, hapless people were running from pillar to post to avail of the scheme. Bank branches are unable to dispense this amount in absence of operational guidelines from RBI.
Similarly people are visiting their branches with the gazette notification allowing relaxation of limits being provided to farmers but to no avail.
Weddings affected
“Withdrawal for marriage purpose can be availed only after RBI’s notification, which will have clear direction about the various formalities needed to be furnished by the customers for withdrawal,” said a senior Corporation Bank official.
This being the marriage season, people thronged the bank branches with all possible evidence for marriage and their identity proof to get the much-needed cash. There were reports of heated exchange from various parts of the country while lining up for the cash.
All banks today served only their respective customers and did not exchange old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes from customers of other banks.
However, this restriction was not applicable on senior citizens as they are allowed to visit any bank branches to exchange the defunct notes.
There was no let-up in the queues outside ATMs in Mumbai while those opting for bank withdrawal had a smoother run as banks offered exchange service of scrapped currencies only to their respective customers.
Several ATMs counters in South Mumbai and suburban areas continued to remain shut as cash ran dry.
