A closed ATM booth in Munger. Picture by Pravez Akhtar

Munger, Dec. 15: Automated teller machines have made life difficult for residents of Munger and Jamalpur town instead of helping them 24 hours a day.

A total of 22 automated teller machines (ATMs) are available in the two towns. Eighteen of them are of the State Bank of India. Far from being of any help, in an emergency or otherwise, all 22 of the ATMs are a disappointment. They are closed after 9pm and if it is not link failure preventing residents from withdrawing money, the ATMs are perpetually out of cash.

The promise of 24-hour service falls short in any case. “It is a pain visiting an ATM in Munger, said Rajiv Kumar, a yoga teacher in the town, around 225km east of Patna. He added: “Most of the time the machines don’t work on Sundays and late in the evening, the kiosks are closed.”

Vikrant Kumar, the managing director of a private firm in Munger, echoed Rajiv: “Link failure, non-availability of cash and other technical faults are so common at the ATMs in town that residents have stopped visiting the kiosks. The bank officials hardly pay any attention to the customers’ problems too.”

The story is same in Jamalpur, around 8km away from Munger. Supriya Kumari, a resident of the railway town, said: “It’s really frustrating when the ATMs don’t work, especially in an emergency. People here have no option but revert to the old days of visiting the branch to get money. We prefer the branches to these non-functional machines.”

The regional manager of SBI, Vinay Kumar, however, claimed all was fine.

He said: “All our ATMs are working smoothly in Munger and Jamalpur town. I have also directed the branch managers to keep tabs on the functioning of the automated teller machines under their jurisdiction.”

On the ATMs running out of cash, he added: “The branch manager concerned receives a message automatically when an ATM is about to run short of cash, at the level of Rs 8-10 lakh. The manager is bound to send officers to refill the cash as soon as possible.”

The manager of Munger’s SBI Bazaar branch, Manoj Kumar, said: “I have directed the ATM maintenance engineer to ensure the ATM is operational at all times of the day. In case of permanent faults, the machine can be closed for some time. But the issue cannot be neglected with so many customer complaints coming in.”

Apart from 18 ATMs of the SBI in the two towns, the rest are owned by Canara Bank, Bank of India, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. All the bank officials have only one thing to say — their ATMs are functioning properly.

The Canara Bank ATM in Munger town has been non-functional for the past 11 months. The branch manager, Suchit Rajak, said: “The maintenance engineer has been directed to make the ATM operational as soon as possible.”

SBI regional manager Vinay Kumar also said only those ATMs in isolated parts of the town are closed after 9pm.