Money seekers go broke on weekend

PUNE: Patience hit saturation on weekend as many people failed to obtain cash from ATMs, despite numerous efforts. Many had to postpone their plans and important job assignments due to cash deficiency.
Somesh Jadhav, who works in a city-based IT firm, called it ‘bad planning’. “I had to visit my cousin in Hadapsar for a family function on Saturday. As soon as I got off from work on Friday, I went straight to the ATMs.I tried around eight ATMs but none dispensed cash. As a result, I could not attend the function. I had hoped that the authorities would make arrangements for the weekend. I was wrong,” he said.
The situation was same for him on Sunday as well. He stood in a queue for an hour and a half on Monday and could finally withdraw money from a bank in Kalyaninagar.
A woman standing with a cheque in the same queue decided not to speak, but pointed towards her husband Anish Thakur. He said, “It is frustrating. When the banks were closed for two days in a row, they should have ensured that ATMs were filled up. Two weeks have gone by without any recovery in the situation at banks. We have rented an apartment in Vimannagar and had to shift on Sunday. We had to postpone it.”
Thakur said he did not get any vehicle to shift the luggage. Auto drivers refused to accept payment through e-wallets.
Sachin Parashar of Vimannagar kept hopping from one ATM to another. He said, “Someone told me that petrol pumps were giving cash post a card swipe. I had no luck there as well. I only have Rs50 since Saturday.”
Chaitanya Adve was waiting his turn outside an ATM in Koregaon Park on Monday morning. “I have brought a cheque of Rs 20,000 and am going to make sure I get all the money today. Last time I was here, a representative told me there wasn’t enough cash,” Adve, a resident of Yerawada told TOI.