Purunakatak: Even as many ATMs across the country continue to run dry, to the dismay of the locals, a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM here in Boudh district has been dispensing torn and smudged notes since the past few days.
According to sources, Sanuj Pradhan of Jirad village had gone to the SBI ATM near Dhalapur square to withdraw money. Luckily, this ATM did not run dry and he could Rs 30,000. However, to his dismay, Sanuj found that the Rs 2,000 notes obtained from the ATM were torn and had stickers tagged on them. Many of the currency notes were pasted with paper, while the letters and numbers on them were missing in some notes.
When Pradhan brought up the issue with other locals, they nearby the ATM; contacted the SBI local branch manager and urged him to change the currency notes. Their ordeal did not end here as the branch manager refused to exchange the notes.
After a brief altercation over the issue, Pradhan called the SBI regional manager at Phulbani and informed him about the incident. He also threatened the locals with lodging a complaint with the police in this connection.
Later, the regional manager called the local branch manager and directed him to exchange the torn currency notes following which Pradhan was given new notes. The incident spread tension in the area for a while. Moreover, locals avoided visiting the said SBI ATM after the news spread like wildfire.
Meanwhile, the branch manager said that the currency notes entered into ATMs are checked for quality and authenticity and assured to look into the matter.