Amit Halder
Port Blair, Aug 9: A non-operational ATM facility run by the State Bank of India at Chouldhari has created massive resentment in the region. According to reports, the SBI ATM which is used by several villagers of Chouldhari and adjoining areas has remained defunct for the past several days because of non availability of cash and people are facing extreme hardships.
“Villagers of atleast five Panchayats avail the SBI ATM facility at Chouldhari. But to their rude shock, it remains out-of-cash most of the times. At times, the ATM reports network failure whereas it reports cash shortage on other occasions. In case of a power failure, there is no back up facility in the ATM. Such being the situation, the ATM facility has become almost useless for customers in this region. During emergency situations particularly during the night hours, people are left in the soup as the ATM facility remains out of order,” said some irate residents of Chouldhari.
Speaking to Andaman Sheekha, the Pradhan, Choudhari, Mr. Mohan Halder urged the State Bank of India officials to ensure proper upkeep of the ATM facility so that it remains operational with adequate cash in the interest of the villagers.
