At ATM kiosks, cash so near yet so far

Pune: If two bank holidays on the trot left people scrambling between ATMs for cash, Monday will bring no respite, with branches remaining closed for Eid-e-Milad.
To make matters worse, only a handful of kiosks — mostly belonging to nationalized banks — were open. Each of those had serpentine queues of frustrated people. While people have become used to the idea of a long wait in the line, the fear of the machine running out of cash before their turn comes was clearly preying on people’s minds.But they continued to wait.
Shantanu Gokhle, a Kalyaninagar resident, was one of them. “This is a nightmare, considering that banks will remain closed on Monday too. In such a situation where people are struggling for cash, how can banks remain closed for three days at a stretch?” he fumed.
“More than 15 ATMs which I checked were closed or had no cash. I finally saw a functional ATM — of Indian Overseas Bank — on FC Road, but looking at the queue, I don’t think I will be able to get cash today. It has been an hour already, and I have yet to even enter the bank’s premises. I will face major problems if I don’t get cash today,” Gokhle added.
Nishant Sharma, a bachelor who lives in Koregaon Park, was in the same queue. “I had promised to pay rent to my landlord by Monday. But I had no idea that banks would remain closed on Monday, too. I just have Rs78 in my pocket, including some small change. I don’t know what to do. How is it possible that almost none of the ATMs of private banks are functional even after such a long time? This queue is almost 500m long, and I don’t know whether or not I will get cash or not,” he said.
“Even if I get (cash), it will not be enough for me to pay rent. That will be a serious problem for me as my landlord is already impatient. If at all I do get cash, I may have to give him at least Rs1,000 to save face. I have typed a message telling him about the problem, but don’t have the courage to send it,” added Nishant, who works with a private company.
At areas like Kondhwa and Salunke Vihar, not a single ATM was open, adding to people’s frustration. “What is wrong with (the banks)? An ATM is not just for withdrawing cash. I need to change my pin number as I suspect that someone might have seen it. I have just been driving around for the past hour but none of the ATMs of my bank are open. Why they have downed the shutters? It is a Sunday and rather than being with my family, I am driving looking for an open ATM,” a frustrated Dileep Kasbekar, another working professional, said.
Adarsh Datye, a student who lives in the same area, is at his wit’s end, looking for cash.
“I didn’t know the banks will be closed for three days at a stretch. I have very little money and thought that I will withdraw it from the bank on Monday. My account is with a nationalized bank but I didn’t know about the festival. Right now, I’m drawing a blank. I don’t know what to do. I don’t even have a two-wheeler on which I can move around looking for working ATMs,” Adarsh said.