Cash crunch may escalate during three-day bank holiday, digital transactions to be only way out

Mumbai: With banks closed for three consecutive days from today and ATMs in the city still not functioning to full capacity, the ongoing cash crisis may escalate further leaving residents high and dry for want of cash during the weekend.

Due to the holidays starting from December 10, all the banks would remain closed for three consecutive days. December 10 being a second Saturday, December 11 being Sunday and December 12 being Milad-un-Nabi, Prophet’s Birthday.

Ajeet Kumar, an executive working with a pharmaceutical company, who withdrew Rs 2,000 from an ATM in suburban Andheri, said, “It seems that the real trouble will begin from tomorrow (Sunday) as few ATMs are currently filled with cash which would be over by evening today.”

“It would be interesting to see how people will cope up with cash crunch for next two days after cash in the ATMs dries up,” he said.

Customers are into difficulty as most of the ATMs are running dry. As banks remained closed, long to moderate queues were seen outside different cash-loaded ATMs, while some ATMs continued to flash ‘ATM Closed’ placard.

PTI