Long queues, grim faces — the DeMo moment for Yes Bank customers

New Delhi, March 7 (IANS) The recent crisis in Yes Bank has revived memories of demonetisation that brought people across the country to long queues outside banks and ATMs. On Saturday, Yes Bank customers, most of them middle-class salary earners, were seen standing in queues outside ATMs to withdraw their hard-earned money “locked up” with the bank following the crisis.

The RBI has superseded Yes Bank Board for 30 days and appointed an administrator, putting a cap of Rs 50,000 on withdrawals by account holders for a month.

Speaking to IANS, Anil Kumar, a software engineer who stood in a queue at Noida Sector 18 ATM, said: “It is a difficult time for me…i am running short of cash… how will I meet my daily needs?” He said the present situation is a grim throwback to 2017, albeit in a different manner. “Everyone in the queue is talking about those days, but takes solace from the fact that it won’t go that far.”

Rahul is another Yes Bank depositor, who thinks all this would soon be over. “Right now I am disturbed because I have to pay my house rent in cash.”

“The bank shut down suddenly and it was announced that only 50,000 can be taken out. When I tried to take out cash from other bank’s ATMs, I could not. Now, I have come to this ATM,” said Krishna, an employee in the private sector.

“I belong to the labour class and I need money desperately,” he added.

Former SBI CFO Prashant Kumar was appointed as administrator of Yes Bank, which has over 1,000 branches and 1,800-plus ATMs across the country. On Thursday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the bank was under watch since 2017 and developments relating to it were monitored on a day-to-day basis.

–IANS

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