Despite the Government’s decision to use indelible ink at cash counters to prevent people from doing multiple transactions, most of the banks in the National Capital Region (NCR) were found without such ink on Wednesday morning.
Moreover, woes of some Delhiites seemed to have no end as they waited for cash in long queues at banks and ATM and struggled to pay for basic necessities. People's patience ran thin as the ATMs ran out of cash.
In Green Park, only 35-odd people could withdraw a maximum of Rs2,000 from the Kotak Mahindra bank ATM. “They deposited the cash in the ATM in the evening. And to my utter surprise, there was no cash in the ATM in the next 45 minutes,” an irritated housewife said. “It seems the bank had deposited very little cash in the ATM.” Same was the case with the Axis bank. “The machine stopped dispensing money in less than an hour,” a young boy who was standing in the queue said.
A Delhi University (DU) student said he went to an ATM at Kashmiri Gate but the cash was finished within half an hour and there were only 40-45 people in the queue.
On the other hand, banks claimed that cash flow in the banks and ATMs was a bit better. Some areas like Connaught Place drew huge crowds but people stood in orderly manner and waited for their turn to either exchange or withdraw cash.
“I waited for two hours in queue to withdraw Rs2,500 and it (the ATM) ran out of cash when my turn was about to come. ATMs don't have cash, banks have endless queues too. How do we manageIJ It is not frustrating to wait in line but not getting money even after that,” said Rishika Bajaj, a TCS employee.
Raj Vir, an autorickshaw driver, said, “Taxi drivers can still survive because they can accept money through cards. I do not have such an option. I sit idle whole day because people don't have cash to pay us and I don't have money to return them.”