Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Oct 5: People of south Kashmir today complained that they are facing ‘immense hardships’ as majority of the branches and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of Jammu and Kashmir Bank are closed.
Locals from Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian districts said all the branches and ATMs of Jammu and Kashmir Bank are not functioning for last three months which had dried their pockets and they are unable to buy basic commodities.
A local resident of Pulwama said that he went to all the ATMs from Awantipora to Pulwama to withdraw, but could not find any of them functional. “I have only Rs. 20 in my pocket. I went to all the ATMS from Awantipora to Pulwama but they were locked. I need money to buy essentials. Few days back, few of these machines were functional but I could not draw cash of more than Rs 4000 which is ironic in the present crisis,” he said.
The locals said since all the banks were closed owing to the ongoing unrest the only source to get cash was ATM machines but their shutters are also down. “We need money to buy basic commodities and medicine. Who keeps reserve cash these days? “Nissar Ahmad, a local, asked.
Public Relation Officer (PRO) of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Sajjad Bazaz when contacted refuted all such claims and said: “All our ATMs are fully functional across Kashmir and we continuously load cash in these machines despite the unrest. We might take extra time to load cash in machine due to the prevailing situation but there is no point of shutting ATMs down.”
When asked about the functioning of Bank branches, he said: “We are the only organisation which is delivering their services in these trying times. Our all branches are functional but they operate slight differently these days and our customers know these things. At some places we operate in the early morning hours and at other places we have changed entrances. Our clients know these things. We might not be operating as usual but we have not stopped our services.”
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