The woes of the people over the currency crisis continued for yet another day on Saturday in both urban and rural areas of Salem and Namakkal districts with the ATMs of all the banks remaining closed throughout and the queues at the bank branches getting longer.
Though Reserve Bank of India had come out with an announcement that the ATMs will function as usual from Friday onwards, but a majority of the ATM centres did not open even on Saturday much to the disappointment of a large number of people.
One or two ATMs which started functioning by the break of dawn in Salem city, downed shutters within an hour. Enquiries with bankers revealed that the banks could not complete recalibration of these machines to allow withdrawal up to Rs. 2,000 to begin with. Non-availability of adequate stock of Rs. 100 currency was said to be another reason for the non-functioning of the ATMs.
Rumours are ripe among the people that it will take more time for streamlining the ATMs to the new process. A cross-section of the people have urged the RBI to take steps for rushing adequate lower denomination notes to the district.
On receipt of SMS from some private banks that cash could be collected at their ATMs and scrapped notes could be deposited in their branches, people rushed to the ATMs of such banks, only to be disappointed.
Meanwhile the serpentine queues lengthened outside the bank branches and the head post offices and sub-offices. A majority of the bank branches handed over only Rs. 2,000 worth lower denomination currency, despite the assurance that the people can exchange to a maximum of Rs. 4,000. The currency exchange process continued till noon only, with the banks running dry of money.
The people who turned up at the banks for depositing the higher denomination notes in their accounts complained that only one counter functioned in the banks. They demanded opening of atleast two counters for hassle-free depositing of money.
While many bank branches stopped disbursing the smaller denomination notes by noon itself, both the head post offices in Salem city and at Suramangalam continued disbursing money till evening, bringing some respite to the people.
In Namakkal district too, a few ATMs functioning in the morning for some time and downed the shutters after becoming dry. The 268 branches of the banks in Namakkal and other major towns of Tiruchengode, Komarapalayam, Paramathivelur, Rasipuram which disbursed the new Rs. 2,000 currency and lower denomination notes were brimming with people throughout the day.
The head post office and all the sub-post offices in Salem East Postal Division will function on Sunday to enable the people to exchange the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes.
