Chandi villagers block road after bank runs out of cash

BIHARSHARIF: The residents of Chandi blocked

Biharsharif-Daniawan road

on Wednesday after the local branch of Punjab National Bank cited

cash crunch

as the reason behind not exchanging scrapped notes of Rs1000 and Rs500 denomination with new notes. After the bank manager assured the protesters that they would get cash soon, the blockade was lifted.

The bank manager said the cash he received for disbursal was not sufficient to meet the requirement and he had spoken to his superiors in this regard. He said more cash would be provided in the coming days to solve the problems of account holders.

Local shopkeeper Bachchan Singh said if things did not improve soon, there would be more chaos as people needed cash for treatment of patients and farmers could not wait for long to buy seeds, irrigation and fertilizers.

One of the protesters,

Anju Kumari

, said she needed cash as her nephew was undergoing treatment in Patna. “I have been coming to the bank and standing in queue for the last four days to withdraw money from my account, but the bank goes dry of cash by the time my turn comes every day,” she said.

One Gayatri Devi, who has to withdraw Rs6,000 from her account, said she needed money for sowing seeds, but could not withdraw a single penny because the bank ran out of cash before her turn came.

Raman Kumar, Bhola Chauhan and others said they were running short of money to meet daily requirements.

A girl from Baridargah area in Biharsharif fell unconscious on Wednesday while waiting in the queue before a BOI branch at Katrapar under Laheri police station. She was rushed to hospital for treatment.
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