Aug. 21: Insert your card, type your PIN, specify the transaction you want to make and, viola, it’s done. That’s how easy bank transactions are supposed to be with automated teller machines (ATMs), but State Bank of India customers in the south Assam town of Silchar have a different story to tell.

Bank customers in this town with a population of five lakh are becoming increasingly irritated at the trend of at least one of the three ATMs being closed on any given day because of technical snags. Another source of irritation is the paucity of cash at ATMs just when a customer needs it the most.

“It has now become common to find the ATM at the SBI’s principal branch at downtown Park Road closed at least once a week. It takes a couple of days for the engineers to set it right,” said a trader.

When one ATM is closed, customers are left with no other alternative but to make a dash to one of the other two machines, only to find themselves at the end of long queues.

A senior executive of a multinational company discovered during a recent visit to Silchar that ATMs in the town can be worse than a cranky bank clerk. Moving from one SBI cash-dispensing unit to another, only to find them either closed or empty of cash, he used another ATM card from a private bank to get out of his dilemma.

“I wonder if these machines should now be most appropriately christened automated troubled machines,” he said after the experience.

State and central government pensioners have to bear the brunt of ATM malfunction. An office-bearer of the State Government Pensioners’ Association, Diptimedha Choudhury, said using the good, old cheque book was the better option. “To elderly pensioners, an ATM would appear to be a godsend as they find it difficult to stand in a long queue to withdraw cash by cheque. Alas, the mood swings of ATMs here have left us with no option but to opt for the queue.”

A senior SBI official admitted that regular ATM users in Silchar — estimated to be about 5,000 — were inconvenienced by frequent technical snags.

“The SBI is aware of the trouble customers are having to go through and has already decided to mitigate their problems by installing state-of-the-art cash dispensers at different branches,” he said.

The official blamed “antiquated” cash-dispensers for the frequent breakdowns. He said six new ATMs would be installed near Cachar College, Tarapur, Sonai Road, Rongpur, Ghoonger and the National Institute of Technology.