The currency crunch following the demonetisation of high-value notes is likely to continue for a few more days as the cash available in banks in the district is still way short of the demand.
However, officials say Mysuru is well placed to cope with the situation and switch to e-wallets and other electronic forms of transaction, given the high penetration of banking services and near cent per cent financial inclusion.
At an interaction of representatives of major banks, both public and private, with Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep on Monday, the latter was apprised of the situation on the ground. The bank representatives said cash indents are being placed with the Reserve Bank on a regular basis, but it takes 10 to 15 days for them to be honoured.
The district has 733 ATMs and each of them used to be replenished with Rs. 35 lakh to Rs. 40 lakh in the past, as against about Rs.10 lakh now. This indicates a lack of cash flow from the RBI, said lead bank manager K.N. Shivalingaiah in response to a query by MP Pratap Simha on why ATMs were running out of cash so quickly.
The meeting was convened after a directive from the Centre to all Deputy Commissioners to conduct camps for workers outside the organised sector to ensure that they have bank accounts and to extend the reach of banking correspondents to rural areas.
Mr. Simha urged bank staff to ensure that the faith of the public in financial institutions is not eroded as some of those in the private sector have been found to be involved in converting black money to white. Banks were directed to ensure that CCTV cameras are in place and all the daily records preserved. Officials were also urged to keep a tab on new accounts that could be fake.
