Notes chaos: Unprecedented demand brings banking to its knees

Appeals by Prime Minister and finance minister notwithstanding, frustration and anger among citizens to get their share of valid notes for meeting daily needs swelled as banks tripped with non-functional ATMs and cash running out of branches at many places.
Unprecedented rush at bank branches was seen all over the country, with people jostling to get new cash today itself because of a holiday in many parts of the country on Monday.
However, despite standing in queues for hours, many had to return empty handed due to cash shortage.
Much to people's dismay, most ATMs remained out of cash on the third consecutive day after they reopened on November 11.

People in distress started queuing up before the branches across the country right from the day-break itself and the wait to get cash got even longer today. Women and the elderly were the worst sufferers.
"I was compelled to go to the bank as I had very little cash, but a huge, frightening queue at the branch sent chills down my spine. But I could gather courage to even stand in the queue," said Suniti Gupta, an elderly women from Kanpur.

Such tales became quite common. Many people are forgoing their day's wage to get cash from the branches as daily wagers are almost broke since Rs 500/1,000 notes are not valid currency since Tuesday mid-night.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked citizens to bear with the currency crunch for 50 days, saying that was the timeframe needed to rid India's financial system of corruption through the implementation of the demonetisation scheme.
Regretting inconvenience to people, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely said ATMs would take up to three weeks to get normal.
Amid the cash-crunch making people impatient and unruly at the branches, the Reserve Bank said there is enough cash in small denominations available.
According to Canara Bank Managing Director Rakesh Sharma, the bank has made meticulous arrangements and the staff has been extending best possible efforts in helping customers.

The Queue Management System through paper tokens is implemented to make transition process more customer-friendly and convenient to the public at large, he said.
Meanwhile, bank officer unions are demanding safety and security of their staff members as impatient customers are getting violent.
"We have made fervent appeal to all our members to ensure smooth transition despite all odds and challenges. We demand from the government, RBI and the bank managements to immediately arrange to provide sufficient currency, other infrastructure and protection to staff so that we can serve the countrymen in a better way," AIBOC General Secretary Harvinder Singh said.

All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) also rued lack of proper planning for such unpleasant situation. "Despite tall claims made by many, branches are facing short supply of currency notes for exchange," he said, adding that ATMs could not be realigned and could not restart in time.
"Bank branches and employees are subjected to public wrath," it added.