Huge Rush at Banks, ATMs Yet to Reopen in Hyderabad  

There was no respite for the common man on Friday too as huge rush continued at banks and ATMs across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to withdraw or deposit cash.

People expecting some relief with the scheduled re-opening of ATMs were in for a huge disappointment as almost all ATMs remained closed.

Some ATMs opened in a few places in Hyderabad but ran out of cash within no time. Officials of various banks said it would take a couple of more days for the ATMs to resume functioning.

They attributed the delay to the technical changes that have to be made for dispensing new notes. The banks are also yet to receive new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency notes to be loaded in the ATMs. The agencies which operate the ATMs said demonetized notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 were yet to be removed from 40 percent of the ATMs.

Some ATMs opened in a few places in Hyderabad but ran out of cash within no time. Officials of various banks said it would take a couple of more days for the ATMs to resume functioning.

There was utter chaos at all the branches of the banks, especially public sector banks, for a second consecutive day on Friday. Serpentine queues were seen everywhere. People lined up since morning to either exchange the demonetized notes with new ones or deposit them. With people parking their vehicles around the banks, it led to traffic problems at some places.

Bank authorities and police had a tough time controlling the crowds.

Business was affected due to demonetization. With severe crunch of change, small traders shut down their businesses. There was thin traffic in usually busy areas, reflecting the impact of demonetization on business and trade.