CHENNAI: A majority of the ATMs in the metropolis and elsewhere in Tamil Nadu went offline for the second consecutive day on Thursday causing severe inconvenience to the people who went penniless. A few ATMs opened their shutters late in the afternoon, but people complained that the machines failed to dispense cash. The Union Government had on Tuesday while announcing demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes said that ATMs would be closed on Wednesday while a few of them would start dispensing from Thursday.
“No ATM was open in my area. But I saw an ATM of Corporation Bank open in Guindy and I went inside optimistic. But the machine did not dispense cash though I tried several times,” Priya, a housewife, said. Many complained that they were put to severe hardships for the second consecutive day on Thursday as banks started dispensing only Rs 2,000 notes. ATMs are expected to up their shutters on Friday morning and the machines would start dispensing Rs 2,000 notes, the RBI had said on Wednesday. A majority of the people in urban areas use ATMs to withdraw cash and most of them lined up in front of bank branches on Thursday to get money.
