44 per cent people found ATMs non-functional

As difficulties continue in exchanging demonetised notes and withdrawing cash, 44 per cent of respondents in a survey complained that ATMs did not work between November 11 and 13.

With more than 9,000 citizens participating, 14 per cent said they had to wait for up to 2 hours, 8 per cent said they able to get cash in less than 10 minutes while 34 per cent did not visit an ATM, according to a survey conducted by the LocalCircles citizen engagement platform.

Similarly, at the banks, 29 per cent people said they had to wait for over two hours to exchange notes, 21 per cent waited between 30 minutes to two hours, 11 per cent suggested being able to transact in 10 minutes or less while 39 per cent did not visit the bank for currency exchange, it said.

In addition to sharing their experiences with the ATM and banks, citizens also highlighted the negative impacts of the demonetisation plan and the process gaps they have observed.

They said that enough currency notes were not available in small denominations before rolling out the scheme. Citizens have highlighted that since the introduction of the Rs 2000 note was already announced last month, ATMs could have been upgraded to dispense these while maintaining secrecy.

As per field experiences of LocalCircles members, more than 40 per cent people in bank lines stood for someone else.

Since 80 per cent of the currency is in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, business owners said they are finding footfalls reduced by 50 per cent in malls, local markets and the like. The majority of citizens said they expect these difficulties to continue in the coming months.

--IANS

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