The cash crisis in the State Capital following the demonetisation move of the Union Government deepened further on Sunday as almost all ATMs ran out of cash. The banks of Dehradun have not received any new consignment of currency from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from last few days. In absence of cash many banks of the city were refusing to entertain customers intending to withdraw money. The ATM network of the city was providing some relief to the people as most of them were dispensing cash till Friday. On Saturday the ATMs also starting running dry and by midnight almost all ATMs stopped dispensing cash. TillSaturday long serpentine queues of customers outside the ATMs were visible as many of them were dispensing cash but on Saturdaythese ATMs wore a deserted look as bankers placed 'no cash' notices outside them. “We were filling ATMs on priority as more people are served by them and customer load in branches is reduced but now our bank has run out of cash. Even the chests of major branches are devoid of cash. Such a situation could prevail for few more days,’’ said a bank manager.
It is learnt that the chests of State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) in the city are having no cash left now. The SBI has three chests while PNB and OBC have one chest each in the city. The situation in other parts of the state is similar to Dehradun. The state has a network of 532 bank braches and 1600 ATMs.
It is worth mentioning here that people in the state has shown exemplary patience though they are facing problems due to cash shortage. The fact that the state has reported not a even single incident of any quarrel among people in the banks and outside ATMs speaks volumes about this patience. “The government must act now and manage availability of cash in banks as the patience of people has started wearing off,’’ said MPS Bisht, a Raipur road resident.
The state convener of united forum of bank unions of Uttarakhand, Jagmohan Mehendirata told The Pioneer that the bank employees are facing the wrath of the customers who are targeting their anger over them. “ The bank employees are working tirelessly, effectively and cooperating among themselves to serve the customers but the government must improve the situation in next ten to fifteen days failing which the bank unions would be forced to start agitation,’’ he said.