Visakhapatnam: There seems to be no end to currency crisis here with a majority of the ATMs again putting up ‘no cash’ or ‘out of service’ boards in almost all parts of the state over the last few months.

Some bank officials attribute the situation to limited cash supply from the Reserve Bank of India, demonetisation drive choking the inflow of cash into banks, people becoming wary of bank deposits in view of new regulations, etc. among others. Some also view the limited supply of cash from the RBI to the banks as an indirect push towards digital economy.

According to information, as on November 8, 2016 when the Rs 1,000 and 500 notes were withdrawn from circulation, there were 17,165 million pieces of Rs 500 notes and 6,858 million pieces of Rs 1,000 notes in circulation. The notes, in combined, acco-unt for Rs 15.44 lakh crore that was around 86 per cent of the currency in circulation in the country.

The new notes, both Rs 2,000 and Rs 500, printed after demonetisation are valued at some Rs 10 lakh crore. This means that there is a deficit of about Rs 5.5 lakh crore cash compared to before demonetisation, which can be related to the currency crisis across the country. The banks’ limiting free ATM withdrawals and other transactions may have added to worsening the situation with majority of the people preferring to draw higher amounts at a time to avoid the transaction charges next time.

The worst-hit are the people who want to draw money for the medical purposes and or for emergencies. According to so-me bankers, the currency crisis has been grappling the bank chests and subsequently the cash availability in the ATMs. As the majority of the ATMs haven’t been dispensing any cash, people had to unsuccessfully scamper from one ATM to another to find one with cash.

Deputy general-secretary, AP and Telangana Bank Employees Federation of the All India Bank Employees Association, P.S. Malleswara Rao, commented that there was no proper preparation before initiating the demonetisation drive. “The demonetisation had opened a Pandora’s box. The cash availability with the bank chests was also not good. All these factors have been finally impacting the quantum of cash in the ATMs. People have also developed some phobia of retaining cash in the banks and they are drawing all their money from the banks these days,” Mr Malleswara Rao added.