Many ATMs in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have run dry in the last three months prompting banks to procure cash from lenders in neighbouring states, The Times of India reported on Thursday. Banks in Telangana asked their counterparts in Maharashtra and Kerala to dispatch currency notes to help them address the crunch, and Andhra Pradesh banks sought help from banks in Odisha and Tamil Nadu.
The chief general manager of State Bank of India’s Hyderabad circle, Swaminathan J, told the daily that the Reserve Bank of India had approved the transfer of cash for January and February. “With the approval of the Reserve Bank of India, we moved cash from Maharashtra and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala to Hyderabad to tackle the situation of accelerated withdrawals from ATMs and bank branches in January and February, but did not do so in March,” the SBI official said. “We usually try to ensure that cash is available in ATMs at least 94% of the time.
The official said that the bank could only ensure 60% availability of cash in ATMs in March. Only 1,500 of the 2,200 ATMs are operating, according to The Times of India.
The report said an analysis of the bank transactions indicated that members of the salaried class have started withdrawing their entire salaries immediately after it is credited.
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