For several Chennaiites, Saturday was yet another day of frustration and hardship as they stood in long queues in front of banks and ATMs. Many complained that banks were not following government guidelines and refusing exchange, citing various reasons.
Residents said banks turned them away citing limited availability of funds, which they had reserved for their account holders.
Rajkumar, a resident of T. Nagar, who visited more than three banks in the area, said, “After a 30-minute wait, I was told at one bank that there was no money left. At another one, I was told only account holders would be allowed to exchange currency. Banks should seek more money if they fall short. Why are the public put to misery?” he complained.
Another gripe was with the different requirements put forward by banks. A resident, who had gone to a bank on North Boag Road, said he was required to write down the serial numbers of all the notes he was exchanging on the slip, which was not needed in other banks. This led to each transaction taking a very long time. Also, non-account holders were only allowed exchange for a few hours during the day. The bank manager said, “We had limited notes and decided to allow only account holders from 3 p.m.”
Septuagenarian Muthukumar, who stood in a queue at a bank for over 45 minutes, said: “At the counter, I was asked to get a photocopy of my ID proof. I had to walk over a kilometre in search of a photocopying shop. My wife, on the other hand, was not asked for the same when she visited another bank yesterday.”
