Cash-starved banks issue tokens instead of pensions

AHMEDABAD: Isanpur-resident Farhan Siddiqui accompanied his paralytic grandmother, Safdari Begum, to withdraw her widow’s pension on Friday. As against Rs 10,000, they were paid only Rs 4,000 by a Maninagar branch of Union Bank of India.
“The manager apparently wanted to oblige other people and asked grandma to come back again to withdraw her pension,” said Siddiqui.
There are many others like Safdari Begum.Despite the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) public statements that there was adequate supply of funds to banks, the woes of cash-starved people are far from over. In Ahmedabad, some were asked to come after four days to withdraw the money as tokens had already been given for the next three days. Those with tokens would be given preference over those who came later.
Ajit Rajput, an employee of a transport company, said, “I got my salary on December 1. I went to HDFC’s Odhav branch but they asked me to come on Wednesday next week to get my token to withdraw money. The scenario is turning scary as ATMs are running out of cash and even banks are downing shutters putting up ‘No Cash’ notices.”
Rajiv Shah, who runs a coaching institute, said that he has not been able to withdraw any money for the last three days. “The HDFC bank manager said there is no cash to dispense. The RBI is saying it is giving cash to banks so where is the money going?” said Shah.
A private sector bank’s branch in Subhash Bridge area refused customers saying the bank had not received currency supply for the past three days.
Amitosh Shah, a Bapunagar resident whose father is admitted for a prostrate operation on Saturday was desperate for cash. “No bank is giving cash. All are citing severe cash crunch. It is time for a high-level intervention to prevent things from going out of hand,” said Shah.
Meanwhile, MahaGujarat Bank Employees’ Association (MGBEA) alleged that the RBI was unable to meet the demand of the general public and banks. “To hide their (RBI) inefficiency, they are unnecessary blaming honest bank employees,” said Janak Rawal, general secretary, MGBEA.
According to the association, RBI is repeatedly making public statements that adequate cash is being supplied to banks but the reality is starkly different. These statements are making the public feel that the RBI is supplying cash to banks and bank staffers are deliberately not making payments.
“In this background, it is imperative that the RBI should be advised to publicly announce the details of currency notes supplied by them to various currency chests or banks on a daily basis,” Rawal said in a statement.