Ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, most of the ATMs are dry in the city on Sunday with the banks remaining closed for two days from Friday. The people are being found flocking from one ATM to another, desperate as they are to get hold of some cash. The minority community people are the worst hit with the festival just a day away. The bank officials, especially of the nationalised banks, have failed to give any assurance of the ATMs being replenished. They say that sufficient cash is not coming to their branches.
Abdul, found standing outside an ATM on Survey Chowk, said that he had found all the ATMs he had visited dry. “With festival a day away I need to purchase cloths for my near ones and other items required for the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr. Placed in this predicament, I must approach my friends to provide me with cash on loan to do the festival shopping,” he said.
Ashish, resident of Dharampur, said that he had been moving from ATM to ATM since the morning for cash. “I have a hundred rupee note left in my wallet. If I fail to get hold of some cash I wonder how I would manage things tomorrow. The governments are apathetic to our plight while they are engaged in celebrating their months or years in office, something that makes a mockery of democracy as we have sent them to power, hoping for better days,” he said.
Mahendra Bisht, a student from Karanpur, echoed the same sentiment, saying that he had been suffering for the past three days thanks to the ATMs remaining empty of cash. “I have to submit tuition fees. My father has deposited some cash in my account on Thursday. Our institute has no swipe machines to help us. I have found the ATMs bereft of cash for three consecutive days since Friday,” he rued.
Another student Amrish said, “I have been forced to take some cash from one of friends to purchase the essential items. The bank officials should be more sensitive to the hardships we face and arrange enough cash in the ATMs before the banks go for such protracted closure,” he said.
Amrita, another resident of the city, recounted the problem she faced to buy medicines for a relative of hers who has been admitted in a hospital. “I faced difficulty to buy medicines as the chemists refused to help me with the swipe machines, saying that they would have to pay two per cent surcharge on each transition,” she rued.