TURA: Citizens in Tura and many parts of Garo Hills are suffering due to non-availability of cash in the bank ATMs in view of the two day bank employees’ strike which has also impacted even businesses in the region since Friday.
There is palpable anger among many bank customers because they are having to suffer for no fault of theirs as they run from one ATM to another still unable to withdraw any of their savings.
“We have been heading to different ATMs across Tura since Friday evening but without any success. This is the responsibility of the bank authorities who should have apprehended such a situation ahead of the strike and ensured all ATMs were stocked up with sufficient cash, after all it is our savings that we are trying to withdraw,” complained many angry customers who came out of empty ATMs in Tura on Saturday afternoon.
The State Bank of India (SBI) which runs the largest number of ATMs in Tura, as many as 14 ATMs, was the most affected by the strike. With the largest share of customers in the region it was the duty of the banks to look into replenishing cash stock given that the shutdown would touch three days, February 2nd being a Sunday.
“The district administration should have also stepped in and pulled up the banks over this immense shortfall in cash because every time there is some form of strike or a spell of holidays the SBI plays truant,” accused customers as they lamented the failure of the banks to overcome this frequent problem of cash crunch in the Garo Hills.
The private companies that are tasked with carrying over cash to refill ATMs were also no longer in sight ever since the strike commenced on Friday.
In the light of the bank employees strike, other banks such as HDFC, Axis and ICICI which have branches in Tura have also been impacted. Only the state government supported banks, Meghalaya Rural Bank, APEX bank and Urban banks have been able to function but even their operations have been severely hit due to the lack of sufficient cash.