Once again raising the bar of hostilities against the Modi Government Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday questioned Centre’s “ability” to handle financial situations following reports that bank ATMs across several States had gone dry flowing shortage of big currency notes.
Attacking the Centre for failing to handle the situation Banerjee said the current crisis reminded her of the demonetisation days even as she wondered whether India was witnessing a “financial emergency.” She tweeted: “Seeing reports of ATMs running out of cash in several States. Big notes missing. Reminder of Demonetisation days. Is there a Financial Emergency going on in the countryIJ”
Banerjee’s tweet came amid reports of big-notes crisis hitting parts of Bengal too. According to sources the crisis hit parts of Kolkata, Howrah, Raiganj in North Dinajpur and Panjipara and Islampur adjoining Darjeeling district.
“We were not prepared for the situation. Currency is in short supply. We have informed the higher authorities,” said a manager of a nationalized branch at park Street in Kolkata.
Similar situations were witnessed in a number of ATMs of some private banks across Howrah where the businessmen had to reschedule their programmes. “Though we use plastic currency there are a number of avenues where you cannot do without hard currency because small time traders and buyers and even labourers would not accept anything other than hard cash. In such cases we had to reschedule our programmes,” said a cloth merchant in Howrah.
Giving indications that the Trinamool was planning to take up the issue in a big way Abhiroop Sarkar a pro-Mamata Banerjee economist said “though we cannot rule out the impact of transactions during this harvest season we also know that such transactions are nothing new and handled every year.
“What makes one to seriously ponder over the matter is the sudden evaporation of cash,” he said wondering whether there was a “ploy to impose cashless transaction on the people,” or whether some big people “have already horded bigger notes and got them converted to foreign exchange.”
Taking a cue the TMC leadership soon demanded a thorough probe into the matter. “Transferring cash from one place to the other is only a temporary solution. The conspiracy angle also has to be investigated. We demand such investigation.”