The ATMs remaining dry with the banks being closed for two days from Thursday, the people were inconvenienced. Even on Saturday when the banks opened after the two-day break things did not improve in the least as the bank employees did not care to replenish the currency chests of the ATMs with cash. On Sunday too, most of the ATMs across the city remained dry, triggering angry reactions from the people looking desperately for cash.
Ashish, resident of Kewal Vihar, said that he had faced major inconvenience with all the ATMs he rushed to in search of cash remaining cashless. “Many of the ATMs has ‘no cash’ boards pasted on them. We are really in dire straits as cash is required to keep things going in the households,” he said.
Minakshi, resident of Raipur, echoed the same sentiment, saying that she had been suffering for the past three days thanks to the ATMs remaining empty of cash. “We are finding it difficult to collect the essential daily household items, including the food stuffs. The vendors of vegetables, fruits and the like have no swipe machines to help us. I have been forced to take some cash from one of my neighbours 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,” she said.
Akansha, 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.