The BJD and the Congress members on Thursday expressed strong resentments over unavailability of cash in ATMs of the SBI and other banks in the State.
Raising the issue, Government Chief Whip Amar Prasad Satapthy said that people, particularly patients and students, are facing a lot of problems for payments as most of the ATMs have been cashless in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and may other parts of the State.
“The Prime Minister had stated that demonetisation will check flow of black money and inconvenience will occur for a few days. But now there is no such demonetisation yet the precarious situation is once again being noticed at the ATMs,” he said. Those who are on medical emergencies are suffering a lot. Students living in the hostels are suffering as they are unable withdraw money from the ATMs for their needs, he said, and demanded that the Finance Minister should inform the House about the situation.
Opposition Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati wanted to know why Rs 2,000 currency notes are not available in the market now.
BJD member Debashis Nayak said a financial emergency-like situation has arisen in the country. The entire economy of the country has collapsed. The Finance Minister should talk to the RBI, the SBI and other bank authorities regarding the situation soon in this regard.
BJD member Mahesh Sahu too slammed the Union Government for unavailability of cash at ATMs.
However, BJP legislature Party leader KV Singh Deo said the cashless situation has arisen temporarily and the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely has strictly asked banks to resolve the issue. The State Finance Minister should talk to the General Managers of banks soon.