Unease deepens as ATMs go dry yet again in State

The days of demonetisation seem to have returned with a majority of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) going dry in the State. Downed shutters and ‘no cash’ and ‘out of service’ signs have become a common sight.

The bankers, too, admit that there is a cash crunch. They, however, refuse to divulge the reasons and are tight-lipped on despatches from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “The RBI is not sharing any information with us,” says a senior banker, who didn’t want to be quoted. Though the banks are receiving cash, the despatches are not sufficient to meet the demand. “The cash being received from the RBI does not even meet half our requirement. This apart, deposits by customers have dropped drastically and the withdrawal of FDs and other deposits has gone up like never before,” he says. At many places, people were seen rushing from ATM to ATM to withdraw money. A. Narasimha Rao, a senior citizen, has been scouting for an ATM which is dispensing cash. The ATM he frequents close to his residence on Pantakaluva Road has been sporting the ‘no cash’ sign for quite some time. Also, none of the ATMs on Bandar Road was functioning on Monday.

“I have been facing this problem for the past few days. The ATMs are not being replenished regularly,” he laments. Not more than 40% ATMs in the State are dispensing cash. There are about 8,900 ATMs in the State and the dysfunctional ATMs varied from 15 to 80% depending upon the bank.

A spate of requests

The ATMs of the State Bank of India (SBI), the biggest bank in the country, have also gone dry. SBI senior official Deep Chand says that 15% of the ATMs were dysfunctional. “There is a cash problem. We are trying to replenish the ATMs at regular intervals,” he says.

FinMin holds meet

Andhra Bank Circle General Manager K.S.D. Siva Vara Prasad, who is also convener of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) Andhra Pradesh, says that the problem is acute in places such as Visakhapatnam, Chittoor, and Vijayawada. The banks are sending requests to the RBI regularly and efforts are being made to ease the situation, he says.

People seem to have developed reservations about parking their money in banks in the light of the proposed Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill and banking scams.

The Union Finance Ministry too conducted a video conference with top bankers in the State a week ago and asked them to create awareness among the public on the FRDI and cash availability, bankers say.