The Telegraph went out in the morning to find out what was the situation at the automated teller machines (ATMs) of private and nationalised banks in the city on the final day of the strike

l dried up: Gandhi Maidan (the State Bank of India ATMs in picture above by Ranjeet Kumar Dey), Exhibition Road, Bailey Road

l working fine: Patel Nagar and few interior areas of Patna

l in nick of time: Vikash Agarwal, a resident of Raja Bazaar, visited the SBI Patel Nagar ATM with the hope to withdraw some money. He said: “There was no cash in any of the ATMs on Bailey Road. One of my friends told me that the Patel Nagar ATM was functioning, so I rushed here.”

l IN TROUBLE: A security guard at State Bank of India’s Gandhi Maidan branch said: “The shutters were brought down, as there have been instances of people trying to damage the ATM kiosks when they run out of cash.”

l OFFICIAL TAKE: Shivaji Singh, the general secretary of State Bank of India Officers’ Association, Patna circle, said: “SBI has 2,500 ATMs in Patna circle that includes Bihar and Jharkhand. More than 90 per cent of these ATMs ran out of cash on Tuesday morning.”

l GROUND REALITY: State Bank of India has around 300 ATMs in Patna. Most ATMs — each has a capacity of Rs 20 lakh — were filled on Saturday. The machines in the prime locations dried out by Tuesday morning, but those in the interior areas still had cash. The ATMs would be again filled after 9am on Wednesday

l bad business: Ranjeet Kumar, the manager of Biryani House on Exhibition Road, said: “There has been a drop of 20 to 30 per cent in the number of customers.”

l food for thought: P.K. Agarwal, the president of Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said: “The common people are the most affected by these strikes. The Union government and the banking unions should opt for an amicable solution so that the residents are not inconvenienced.”