Mobile ATM van reaches out to residents running low on cash

The district administration on Thursday roped in banks to make cash available to residents through a mobile ATM van in some of the city’s newly developed areas located

The district administration on Thursday roped in banks to make cash available to residents through a mobile ATM van in some of the city’s newly developed areas located along the Dwarka Expressway at Sector 37 C and D. The residents had reached out to deputy commissioner after facing a cash crunch for the past few weeks and had sought the administration’s intervention.

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Deputy commissioner(DC) Amit Khatri said after talking to some residents he got in touch with the lead district chief manager (LDCM), Gurugram, and asked him to send a mobile ATM van to Sector 37 C and D at the earliest to provide residents of over eight housing societies in the area. An LDCM is responsible for coordinating between banks and the district administration.

“The residents were in need of cash and there are no ATMs within their societies, and visiting the nearest ATM would have been difficult for the residents. Residents of seven or eight societies needed our help, and I spoke with the LDCM and a cash van reached Sector 37 C and D by Thursday evening,” Khatri said.

The societies whose residents need help with withdrawing cash were Corona Optus, Takshila Heights, ILD Green, Iperia Esferia, Our Homes, BPTP Park Serene, Ramprastha City, and NBCC Green View.

LDCM Prahlad Roy Godara said the mobile ATM van carried adequate cash and it started dispensing cash at Sector 37 C and D societies within two to three hours of getting the orders from the DC office.

“As per deputy commissioner’s directions, we told the residents to maintain social distancing while withdrawing cash. We had mapped the entire localities and all the mentioned societies before reaching,” said Godara, adding that nearest ATM from the Sector 37 C and D is at a distance of 1.5km in Sector 10.

The residents on Wednesday had taken to social media and tweeted their concern regarding cash crunch and had tagged Khatri and other top district administration officials.

Hemant Kumar, a BPTP Park Serene resident, said, “I sent a message to the DC on WhatsApp raising our concern, and he quickly responded and also sought a list of other societies where residents were falling short of cash. We shared the names of all eight societies by evening we got a call from Godara. We need cash to buy fruits vegetables for other purchases for which digital payments are not possible.”

In the district, after the national lockdown came into effect, ATM cash withdrawal has reduced by 50 to 60 percent. “We have observed that in all the 1,440 ATMs in the district that usage has gone down 50 to 60 percent as fewer people visit these kiosks after amid the Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown. This is the first time during the lockdown we have supplied cash through a mobile ATM van,” Godara said.