With Thursday being the pay day, banks are gearing up to face a huge rush as people will queue up at branches across the country to withdraw salaries amid the ongoing cash crunch following demonetisation.
Making matters worse, a large number of ATMs are still dry even 23 days after the government scrapped 500 and 1000 rupee notes earlier this month to crack down on black money.
Top government officials say special efforts are being made to pump in additional cash into banks to meet the heavy demand for currency notes on account of salary withdrawal.
The Reserve Bank has been asked to ensure adequate supply of new Rs 500 notes at banks and currency printing presses are working overtime to print them, the official said, adding that there is a lag of 21 days for printed notes to reach markets.
Bankers fear heavy rush at the branches for a week as many ATMs are still not functional.
Banks may have to lower the withdrawal limit as there is limited cash coming from RBI, said an official from UCO Bank.
People are likely to throng at bank branches on December 1 as central and state governments credit salaries and pensions to millions of accounts. At the central level alone, there are around 50 lakh employees and 58 lakh pensioners.
