long queues outside the banks and ATMs have returned as salaried people are thronging them to take out salaries.
The banks of the state capital and surrounding areas were having sufficient amount of cash in the last week of December due to which the crowd of people outside them had reduced substantially. To the relief of people most of the ATMs were also dispensing cash.
However, things changed with the month as people rushed to the banks to draw their salaries. This rush coincided with the cash crunch in most of the banks due to which people faced problems. “I waited for more than one and half hours to get my turn but the cashier curtly told me that I can withdraw only Rs 10000. I have to pay my rent, school fees of daughter and purchase ration. I don’t know how I will manage,’’ said Ravi Dayal while coming out of Punjab National Bank (PNB), located on Vidhan Sabha road. Most of the people felt relieved when the problem of cash crunch ended in last days of December but with the problem coming back to trouble them they are feeling let down by the government.
“We supported the Prime Minister when he asked a time of 50 days to normalize things but with the problem of cash availability still persisting, it appears that the plans of government have failed miserably,’’ said Yogesh Rawat a resident of Bhauwala. The anguish of the residents can be understood as almost 50 percent of the ATMs of the city ran out of the cash on Tuesday.
The general secretary of Uttaranchal Bank Employees Union, Jagmohan Mehendirata accepted that the problem of cash has returned in the state capital. He claimed that the problem is graver in the rural areas. The bank union leader however welcomed the government’s move to provide 40 percent of the cash to the rural branches.