Some Delhi-NCR ATMs giving cash, but most are still cash-starved

New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) Automated Teller Machines, or ATMs, across Delhi are yet to regain their operations level at par with the pre-demonetisation days. While some of them were found dispensing cash on Monday, many others were still dry.

Only three of the 10 ATMs visited by the IANS team in East Delhi were found to have any cash. However, those dispensing cash had barely 10-15 persons standing in queues -- in contrast to the scenes barely a fortnight ago.

But, it was complete chaos at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in Nangloi in West Delhi area, where the ATM has not seen any cash since the demonetisation on November 8 last year.

Nearly 100-130 people waited outside the bank in the hope of getting cash through cheques, while people breaking the queue to get it out of turn created the chaos.

"They (Sashastra Seema Bal) are not letting us in, telling us to come in queue. But they keep letting in the ones known to them. Why should we come in line then?" an agitated customer told IANS.

Two ATMs at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-D) -- those of Canara Bank and the State Bank of India -- were found to have some cash but no seekers.

Similarly, the Canara Bank ATM in Green Park area was cash-filled, but there were hardly any cash seekers.

The PNB ATM at Sansad Marg in New Delhi area dispensed cash, but also had around 50 people in queue -- a number which only went on to grow as the day progressed.

Sanjeev Das, a resident of Khanpur in South Delhi area, pointed to a different kind of problem now: Even though the ATM in his area is full of cash, it has failed to serve any purpose as the shutters of the kiosk remain downed from late evening until about 10.00 a.m.

"What's the point of having an ATM when one cannot have access to it round the clock? I believe that since they expect an irregular and uncertain supply of cash, the ATMs have spread out their cash flow over a number of days by restricting the number of opening hours," Das speculated.

Whether the ATMs were filled with cash, were dispensing the notes in desired denomination, or working at all was equally uncertain and unpredictable in Noida region.

The IndusInd Bank ATM in Noida Sector-75, the only one in this locality, had "No Cash" message displayed before it.

Most ATMs in Sector 16 of Noida were found to be either without cash or out of order, barring an IndusInd ATM, which did dispense money.

Many ATMs of the HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and the PNB were either non-functional or cashless.

"It has been 10 days since the machine is out of order. Maybe, tomorrow they'll pay some attention to it," a guard at the Kotak Bank told IANS.

"It is bank's own ATM and not looked after by any external agency, and since the bank has hardly been able to keep it cash-filled, it has remained neglected," he added.

The SBI ATM in the vicinity worked until 4.00 p.m and then broke down, whereas the PNB ATM here has not been in order since the demonetisation announcement over a month ago.