Serpentine queues, agitated crowd and more chaos were witnessed as cash-starved people struggled to exchange and withdraw money on Saturday. Serpentine queues started forming outside banks much before they opened, with people armed with their old Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes. There was growing frustration among people in the winding queues.
Similarly, people were seen impatiently waiting outside ATMs to withdraw money. People, including elderly and women in large numbers, queued up to get the valid currency notes needed to meet their daily expenses. Most of ATMs had their shutters down and some just added to the existing confusion.
Tempers flared at many places outside banks and ATMs as thousands of anxious people waited for the third consecutive day to deposit or exchange their spiked currency or take out cash. On the other hand, there was no business in the national Capital. Saturday despite being holiday, most of the market areas were either closed or no customers due to cash crunch. Roads were also witnessed a less vehicles across the city. Multiplexes and single cinema halls were empty. liquor shops also witnessed a few client and sale is declined to 70 per cent as compared to normal day. Even retailers and vendors are looking for customers in their localities.
The Pioneer, which went around Saket in south Delhi found massive crowds outside all State-run and private banks, people desperate to get in. Although a second Saturday is a holiday for most banks, the government has ordered all banks across the country to function both on Saturday and Sunday. Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, ICICI, Standard Chartered, Kotak Mahindra... the crowds were the same everywhere.
Although orderly, the long queues spilled on to the roads, creating traffic bottlenecks.
“This is a complete mess,” rued Shovik Bhatacharya, a Saket resident. “At this situation how will any of us even get into the bank and whenIJ” he added.
Autorickshaw driver Salim said this situation was no different in all the areas neighbouring Saket. “Some queues are two kilometres long,” he said, adding “I can’t imagine when the people at the end of the queue will be able to enter the bank.”
Police had to be called in after a quarrel broke out among impatient waiting crowds outside the Central Bank of India branch at Gulmohar Park in south Delhi. The residents’ welfare association had started giving tokens to colony residents, leading to a separate queue outside the bank.
“Why should there be a separate queue for residents. What is so special about them,” said an angry Sheila, a domestic help who was waiting in queue for the past few hours.
Imran Khan, a youth working in a private company in Noida, said that the Government must have planned better management to deal with the cash chaos.
“I am standing in queue since morning but till now I cannot enter the bank. I have come here to deposit demonetized currency in my account but the mismanagement is creating problem,” Khan told The Pioneer.
Another anxious customer, who runs a small business in Noida, seeing the massive queue ahead of him, said sarcastically, “Better go and ask Modi what to do.”
A man standing outside a bank in Chandni Chowk said he took leave to exchange the demonetised bills so that he could meet his daily needs.
However, there were some who appreciated the Government initiative to demonetise the higher denomination bills to curb black money and fake currencies. They said that people must show patience.
“People must have patience and support bank officials while depositing or exchanging cash,” said Tasleem Ahmed, who works in private company in Noida. Ahmed also said that he was standing in the queue for an hour outside the lakshmi Vilas Bank in Noida Sector 16. He said that people were creating chaos while waiting for their turn.
On Saturday many ATMs were non-functional, with printed notices saying they had no cash. Security personnel deployed at ATMs said that ATMs were stocked with cash but till morning all the cash have been withdrawn.
Expressing apology for the inconvenience caused at the HDFC Bank ATMs, in a tweet the bank said: “Some of our ATMs could be running out of cash due to heavy demand. We’re working round the clock to ensure they are replenished. We regret the inconvenience and thank you for your patience. We urge you to use your Mobile Banking, PayZapp for payments.”