Bhubaneswar: Serpentine queues continue to slow down life in front of banks and ATM kiosks across the city reflecting the demonetisation effects.
Several teller machines between Vani Vihar and Master Canteen have automatically become defunct thanks to cash crunch while a few others were open at places reluctantly vending up to `2500 to the customers.
Train passengers had a harrowing time at the ticket counters due to lack of change demanded by the booking clerks. Retired fisheries department official PK Panda said he had booked a ticket to Kharagpur online, but found many short-distance travellers cut a sorry figure as booking clerks at Bhubaneswar railway station refused to provide them change on the pretext of shortage.
Prafulla Rana, another passenger, said he was standing in a queue for two hours at one ATM kiosk near the railway station but failed to draw money because the train left the station before he reached the ATM machine. Consequently, he missed the train and had to take the next available train. All cinema goers had similar experience to share due to shortage of small currency. Employees of Swati, Stutee, Sriya, Maharaja and Keshari theatres have said regular film goers have stopped visiting cinema halls due to shortage of small denomination currency. Those who pay `2000 note to buy tickets are often turned down, they admitted.
In major shopping malls like Big Bazaar, demonetized currency of `500 and `1000 denominations were not acceptable and a majority of people were shopping through debit and credit cards.
Some private banks, meanwhile, have begun marketing credit cards to customers drawing salaries above `25,000 to help tide over the currency crunch.
Arindam Ganguly
Post News Network