THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The rush for depositing and exchanging demonetised currency notes continued in banks and ATMs and the withdrawal ceiling was fixed at Rs 2,000 due to scarcity of notes on Sunday. Several banks ran out of cash by the afternoon and some main branches closed down by 3.30 pm due to scarcity of notes of smaller denominations. Several stakeholders like PSUs were able to mobilise requisite funds into the banks where they hold accounts by sending individual distress communications to the Reserve Bank of India.
“For instance, MILMA has got '15 crore to pay off their daily wage employees by keeping the RBI in the loop. Branches receive around '4 lakh to pay off their customers and hence withdrawal ceiling was kept at '2,000,” a senior official of a Nationalised bank said. On Sunday, after a recce of ATMs, DC found that money was available in random ATMs belonging to private banks whereas massive queues concentrated around State Bank ATMs that ran out of funds frequently.
“The mobile ATM machine of the State Bank of Travancore was parked near Poojapura headquarters due to the massive demand in the morning. Later it reached out to people at areas such as Kanakkunnu and Railway station,” sources said. People in emergency situations, especially those requiring money for hospital purposes continued to be the ones most hassled.
“After the banks closed, a woman came crying for money for hospital expenses for her daughter. Since bank ran out of cash, one of our lady staffers lent Rs 1,000 from her purse on condition that it would be repaid tomorrow,” said an official of a bank at MG Road. The money for each branch is being mobilised from bank chests from specific districts that are replenished by the Reserve Bank.
