ATMs go dry

New Delhi/Hyderabad/Amaravati: For the last few weeks, several areas in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have reported shortage of currency. Now similar reports are coming from many states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka besides Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Automated teller machines (ATMs) in these states are running dry. People are facing a huge monetary crisis, with most ATMs running out of cash.

Taking stock of the situation, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said, "We have reviewed the currency situation in the country; there is more than adequate currency circulation and it is available with the banks... a temporary shortage caused by the sudden and unusual increase in some areas is being tackled."

Congress president Rahul Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the cash crunch, saying: "Modi has destroyed the banking system. Nirav Modi fled with Rs 300 billion (Rs 30,000 crore) and Prime Minister didn't utter a word. We were forced to stand in queues as he snatched Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes from our pockets and put in Nirav Modi's pocket."

The Congress chief also took a dig at BJP-led Central government's slogan 'Achhe Din' questioning when 'good days' would come?

Not only Rahul Gandhi, terming the situation as "financial emergency", Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien said: "PM Modi had said that everything will be fine in 50 days, but it has now been more than 1.5 years, and there is still a cash crunch."

KEY DEVELOPMENTS
1. SC Garg, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, said on Tuesday that the government is doing its utmost to resolve the situation at the earliest. "The government is taking all steps to ensure that ATMs are supplied with cash and to get the non-functional ATMs normalised at the earliest," Garg said. "We print about 5 billion of Rs 500 notes per day. We have taken steps to raise this production 5 times,” he added.

2. ATMs run dry in some states: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the "temporary shortage" in certain states is being "tackled quickly" and that there is "more than adequate" currency in circulation.

3. Life gets miserable for many: Despite the currency flow in the economy going back to the pre-demonetisation level, ATMs are going dry making life miserable for many residents, especially traders. Many are running from one ATM to another in search of currency notes. People say, 'We do not know what or where the problem is but the common man is facing difficulty as the ATMs are not dispensing cash. Many ATMs seen 'out of service' in many areas.

4. In Hyderabad, office goers say that they have been unable to withdraw cash from ATMs since Sunday. There are similar reports from many cities across the country people saying there is no cash at ATMs for three/four days. However, people in Madhya Pradesh say that they have been facing cash crunch for the last two weeks.

5. The Finance ministry officials held a meeting with RBI, banks and state government officials to take stock of cash availability after receiving complaints of the dearth of money in some states. The non-release of funds by the Centre is being cited as one reason for the cash crunch.

6. The cash shortage, according to informed sources in the banking sector, has been there for almost a fortnight as less amounts of cash was received from the RBI. The cash crunch is believed to be right from the level of currency chest, from where the cash is disbursed to various bank branches across the state.

7. More than 22,000 government employees are yet to get their salary for the month of March, even as the Finance Department authorities are working hard to fix the glitch.

8. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed that Rs 2,000 notes were vanishing from the market and alleged that there was a "conspiracy" behind it. He was referring to news reports of ATMs running out of cash at some places in the state.