CANACONA: Long queues were seen at Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) of various banks along the Canacona coast, as tourists sought every opportunity to withdraw money to ring in the New Year.Long queues were a regular sight at the ATM machines at Char-Rasta (HDFC), Chaudi (SBI), Agonda and other places. The ATMs of Corporation Bank, Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, ICICI Bank and Canara Bank also witnessed queues. Such was the rush at the ATM booths that bankers had to replenish the ATMs twice during the day.
‘The frequency to upload cash in most ATM machines has almost become a daily affair, as cash-chests of these machines are often emptied by mid-day. The visitors then proceeds to some other ATMs, thereby adding to the queues,” informed a bank official.
According to sources, bankers on average load each of their ATM machines with cash of about Rs 60-80 lakh and much of this currency gets exhausted in quick time. While a growing number of foreign visitors were equipped with debit/credit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs, many money exchange counters, already hit by low arrival of foreign tourists, began to complain of declining business this season.
“Besides domestic visitors, most foreign tourists, who would earlier get their currency exchanged into Indian Rupees at our counter for their daily expenses, are now heading to the ATMs instead. The number of foreigners coming to us to exchange their currency into rupees has now gone drastically down,” said a concerned trader, Shekar Dessai, at Palolem.
