ATM hiccups see no end in city

GUWAHATI, April 21: The long queue and sometime the return with an irritation either due to lack of cash or defunct ATM machines across Guwahati altogether reminding the city dwellers the nightmares they encountered during the last demonetization. Shortage of cash, increasing number of defunct ATMs and link failure in the respective bank branches have been frustrating consumers. Expressing displeasure over the development, account holders blame the attitude of the bank authorities and say that though limited numbers of ATMs are proving cash, notes of smaller denominations like 500, 200, and 100 are not accessible. These limited ATMs have been fruitlessly trying to mitigate the wide spreading cash crunches with 2000-rupee notes. 

On the contrary, a senior SBI official from ABC branch denied any cash crunches either with the bank’s ATMs or in the respective branches. However, he said that following the recent cyclone experienced in Kolkata, certain branches went through link failure for which he appealed to the consumers to bear with the natural ordeal. He hopes that normalcy will be restored soon.  Across Guwahati city, SBI alone has more than 500 ATMs against 1,000 of other banks.