With most nationalised and private banks running out of cash, the woes of people continued to pile up. Long queues were seen in front of ATMs of nationalised banks on Wednesday.
The State Bank of India and a few private banks dispensed cash, but customers thronging the others had to return disappointed.
District Collector Kantilal Dande called for an emergency meeting of bankers. Mr. Dande urged them to ensure that adequate supply of cash and avoid any major inconvenience to people.
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The district has 800 branches of 45 types of banks. The State Bank Group is the largest with 166 branches, followed by Andhra Bank with 114 branches. The private banks branches number 128.
The total receipts of all the branches have now reached Rs. 3,000 crore, but the bankers feel that they might need an infusion of Rs. 1,500 crore to meet the demand.
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The Collector asked the State Bank of India, the largest conglomerate of branches, to accommodate the concerns of the other banks.
Meanwhile, many bankers felt that storing the deposits could also pose problems aplenty as the currency chests have been filled up. Of the 18 chests in the district, the State Bank group owns 12.
“We have a major crisis on our hands and we are not in a position to accept even deposits from Thursday as all chests are filled to their capacity. We may need at least Rs. 250 crore to meet the demand for the next two days,” said a senior bank manager.
Even the decision of the Centre to use indelible ink to avoid impersonation, the bankers feel, could take more days. “We have no idea how the indelible ink will be shipped to banks here. We received a set of guidelines from the RBI on the methods to use indelible ink which would be stored in 5 ml bottles,’’ said another manager.