With banks closed due to Guru Parv on Monday, cash-strapped people started making beeline outside ATMs from early morning but with limited success as most of cash vending machines were running dry.
Most of the ATMs were non functional in the national Capital. ATMs in high security Parliament House complex as well as top Government offices like North Block, that houses Ministries of Finance and Home, ran out of cash within hours, leaving the high-and-mighty high and dry.
Residents on Monday were seen searching for ATMs stocked with cash. The situation became pathetic as banks closed and only a few ATMs were dispensing cash.
"Many ATMs have also not been replenished. People who had planned to queue up outside ATMs early in the morning, had to return disappointed as shutters were down in many places. The big struggle these days is to find a working ATM. If social media posts are anything to go by, a lot of people have been spending their time over the past few days to find an ATM with cash so that they can line up to withdraw money that works," said Jane Singh, student of DU.
People commuting to work were the most hit as they were hoping to withdraw some money before starting out for work. Singh said his maid, milkman and the newspaper vendor have been asking for their payments. "How are they supposed to get by with limited cash when I cannotIJ" he asked. ATMs inside metro stations also disappointed those who made a dash for cash early morning.
"Why did they allow the bank to shut down when they know how people are struggling to even buy basic grocery itemsIJ How long are they going to take us for grantedIJ I woke up at 4:30 am to rush to the ATM so as to avoid queues, but did not get cash anywhere," Ankit Girdhar, a resident of south Delhi’s lajpat Nagar said.