ATM tweak to take 2-3 weeks: Centre

TT, Nov. 12: The Centre today said it would take "two to three weeks" to recalibrate all the two lakh ATMs in the country to enable them to dispense the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley expressed regret at the inconvenience caused to people and appealed to them to keep in mind the "long-term advantages" on a day the magnitude of the cash crunch began to manifest itself through ATMs running empty, long queues before banks and frayed nerves.

A baby died in Mumbai, allegedly because the family did not have hard cash to make the hospital deposit. At least one ration shop was looted last night in a Madhya Pradesh village after the owner refused to accept old notes and a video clip showed policemen purportedly beating cash seekers in front of a bank in the state with belts and canes. 

In Calcutta, the situation marginally improved today but many ATMs still remained closed or cashless. Banks had longer queues because it was a Saturday and many who had cash to last them two days began to feel the pinch.

The following changes were perceptible overnight in Calcutta:

♦ The stirrings of anger and resentment in the queues;

♦ A lurking fear among bank officers that matters may come to a head unless the situation improves fast and apprehension whether Sunday would draw even more customers because of the bank holiday on Monday; and

♦ Frequent calls to police stations for help.

A Tollygunj resident spoke of her four-hour wait: "I joined the queue at 9.15am. I managed to reach my home, which is less than a kilometre from the bank, at 1.45pm."

Over these four hours, she saw police coming twice to manage the queue. "At one point of time, a fight started outside because people had become so frustrated. Everyone wanted to get in," she said.

Sources in the police said several banks in central and south Calcutta sought police assistance throughout the day. The Hare Street and Shakespeare Sarani police stations alone - the two police station areas that have the maximum number of banks and ATM counters in Calcutta - received more than a dozen distress calls each till Saturday afternoon.

Officers in Lalbazar said all the eight divisions had kept a force on standby. "We are not making permanent postings at the banks or ATMs. Instead, each of the divisions has deployed radio flying squads and motorcycle patrols that are making the rounds. We are mobilising them to a particular spot when we are getting a call," said an officer.

Bank employees who have been toiling for the better part of the week were also beginning to be fatigued. "I have hardly slept for four or five hours the last two nights. It's been backbreaking work," said a bank employee.

In New Delhi, finance minister Jaitley said that on account of secrecy, the massive task of recalibrating all the ATMs could not have been started before the demonetisation announcement by the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

"These machines were meant to dispense the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Now it would take two to three weeks to recalibrate as the new notes are different in size," Jaitley said in Delhi.

"Technical people need to visit each and every ATM to recalibrate the machine. If we had done that before (demonetisation) - and it takes thousands of people - the secret would not have remained secret," the minister added.

The RBI has enough cash to tackle the situation, he said.