More ATMs are likely to function from Saturday morning saving the trouble of standing in queue at banks for exchange of demonetised currency.
“ATMs in Visakhapatnam district will work from Saturday morning with loading of cash being completed tonight,” SBI Deputy General Manager Ajoy Kumar Pandit told The Hindu .
As many as 122 ATMs of the bank in Vizianagaram and Sriakakulam districts worked on Thursday.
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The functioning of ATMs in full is taking time because they are operated by outsourced agencies, he says. Around 200 ATMs in Visakhapatnam district will work on Saturday, he said.
On Thursday alone, the first day banks worked after demonetisation, Rs.250 crore of money was deposited in the three districts and Rs.15 crore in the main branch alone, Mr. Pandit said. Each branch received on an average of Rs.1 crore. And the cash disbursed was between Rs.30 and Rs.35 crore.
“Employees in 240 branches are working right from morning to meet the expectations of people. It’s a huge task and it will take five to six days for the operations to normalise,” he says.
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On Thursday, Andhra Bank received deposits of Rs.70 crore and exchanged around Rs.40 crore, its Deputy General Manager B. Vijayalakshmi said.
While 40 of its ATMs began working Thursday night itself, 20 were dispensing from Friday afternoon, she said.
At Seetammadhara branch, around 350 persons were given exchange in the morning and up to another 150 in the evening, according to Chief Manager V. Vidya Sagar.
Five extra counters have been set up - three for cash receipts, one for exchange and another for payment of Rs.10,000 to account-holders. The branch made arrangements for customers to wait and allowed them in batches for exchange.
Central Bank of India Senior Manager Shiva Kumar G. said all the 14 ATMs of the bank would function from Saturday.