Tamil Nadu - Dindigul   

Customers hit as ATMs develop snag in Dindigul

— Photo: G. Karthikeyan

Troubled times: Customers waiting at an ATM on Salai Road in Dindigul on Monday.

DINDIGUL: Savings bank account holders, mostly retired government staff, teachers and police personnel, have been running from pillar to post to withdraw their salaries credited in the State Bank of India, thanks to the malfunctioning of almost all Automated Teller Machines installed by the bank in the town.

All the ATMs in the main branch of the SBI did not function since Monday morning. Already, the bank’s ATM at railway station was getting paralysed often. So many customers have refrained from using it.

Only the ATM on R.M. Colony has been functioning without any problem. Unfortunately, that too got paralysed.

Already, the SBI does not allow customers to use bank’s cash counter to draw money below Rs.40,000. With no option, the salaried class solely depended on the ATMs only.

It has become a common sight to see customers waiting in a serpentine queue for hours to draw cash from ATM of he main branch.

A majority of the customers waited outside the ATM centre accepted that technical snag in ATMs were common thing.

They were dissatisfied as there was no proper clarification from the bank officials for their doubts.

Teachers and government staff, who came on permission, were irritated by they delay and as they were not able to get proper information regarding the snag in the ATM.

Why the bank did not allow us to draw money using withdrawal slip, asked another pensioner.

The agony of customers did not end with this.

The main branch had already stopped opening of savings bank account for the past five days.

It stopped even distributing applications for opening SB accounts.

When some persons, mostly students, approached the branch to open an SB account, the staff told them to come after 15 days.

“We have stopped opening SB accounts temporarily,” said a managerial level officer who refused to disclose his name. “Now, we have started opening SB accounts only for government staff. We will consider others later.”

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