Payday rush | Banks, State Govts brace for money withdrawal storm amid cash crunch

With the cash crunch refusing to ease on even after three weeks of the demonetisation announcement, Wednesday is expected to be chaotic as millions will queue outside the money dispensers to get their hard-earned salaries back home.

November 30 would be the first payday since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced scrapping the old 1000 and 500-rupee currency notes. Though the government has repeatedly assured of enough cash in supply, banks and ATMs are running dry sooner than expected, causing hysteria and panic among the masses.

A man waits on Tuesday outside a bank gate that failed to get adequate cash from RBI in the ongoing cash crunch. (Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

With the cash crunch refusing to ease on even after three weeks of the demonetisation announcement, Wednesday is expected to be chaotic as millions will queue outside the money dispensers to get their hard-earned salaries back home.

Here are the live updates from across the country:

Telangana

The Telangana government has issued an order providing Rs 10,000 in cash to all its employees, irrespective of their official status, while remitting the balance amount to their respective salary accounts. It has requested the banks to provide special counters for the employees to draw Rs 10,000 from their account.

Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh government, too, is making a similar arrangement to disburse Rs 10,000 in cash to its employees in their respective offices itself.

In Allahabad the banks are gearing up to deal with an onset of rush at ATMs and bank counters on Thursday. As a result most of the banks have decided to press their entire staff and increased number of counters for withdrawals.

In Bareilly crowds at ATMs have remained thin throughout the day. Banks are confident of limiting the rush as half of the cities ATMs (230 ATMs) have been made functional and are filled with cash.