long queues were seen since 6 am across the national Capital outside banks and ATMs even on Sunday. If that was not enough, many outlets were shut after being short on cash.
At many places heated arguments were exchanged between people and officials as cash in the ATMs and banks ran dry. And as the day drew to an end, several people were seen getting impatient.
With banks scheduled to remain closed on Monday on account of Guru Nanak Jayanti, people scrambled to withdraw new notes to meet their daily needs and exchange existing high value notes after demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8.
Sensing large gathering at banks and ATMs, the Delhi Police had beefed up security outside bank branches.
A senior police officer said additional precautions were taken after the Saturday rumours of stampede and people plundering goods from a mall in Seelampur. "We issued an advisory to the citizens not to spread such rumours and also warned of strict action. Since it's a Sunday, we are expecting larger crowd outside banks and ATMs. We have made adequate security arrangements to ensure no untoward incident occurs," said the senior police official.
To manage anxious crowds, as many as 3,400 personnel of paramilitary and the Delhi Police, along with 200 quick reaction teams have been deployed at ATMs and banks to keep the situation under control.
"I didn't get a chance to exchange the banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as I was working. But today is my off day and so I rushed to the bank only to find a huge crowd of people waiting for their turn to come. The crowd is swelling by the hour," said Mohit Jha, a resident of Vikaspuri.
Roopak Das, 71, said he had a harrowing time on Saturday running from one ATM to another to withdraw money.
"I visited a number of ATMs to withdraw money yesterday but none of them were operational. I'm old and there is nobody at my home who can withdraw money on my behalf. I'm finding this extremely difficult. Today I woke up early and reached the ATM but then were was a long queue. I just hope that I am able to withdraw money today," Das said.
Another elderly resident expressed his frustration saying he was completely out of cash and had to borrow money from his neighbour.
"Even today there is no respite. I went to the bank and stood in the queue for sometime but then my legs began to hurt and came back. Arrangements should be put in place for the elderly and disabled people," he said.