SBI ATM at KC | Photo: Venkat Desirazu
Manipal: ATM machines in Manipal have left many students disappointed. The State Bank of India in the Manipal Institute of Technology campus opposite the Kamath Canteen ran out of money for around twenty four hours, there is construction going on in the ICICI banks most of the times whereas the Syndicate Bank ATM machines eating up money is a common complain.
The door to the ATM machines is open quite often with people peeping in and groups of people while away time inside the air conditioned cabins. In a survey conducted nine out of ten people have admitted that they never feel the need to close the door and have never used the ATM card to enter the SBI ATM because the door is always open even if no one is using the machine.
Hema Shetty, the Branch Manager of Syndicate Bank in the MIT campus said, “The complain we often get is that the machine has withdrawn the cash before it could be taken.” It often takes the cash back inside if not taken over a period of time which is not too much of a problem as the money comes out in a separate tray and when contacted by the user the cash is returned after verification.
A particular student on the condition of anonymity said, “The ICICI ATM at MIT ate up my SBI card and destroyed it when I in an unfortunate mistake used the card of a different ATM. Unfortunately the Bank manager could not help and that was my combo card given by the University”. Such mistakes are avoided in the other ATMs where the card is supposed to be pulled out immediately after insertion avoiding such disasters.
Technical blunders result into malfunctioning of the ATM and leaves users without money especially at times of need which poses a serious problem to the students at large. The ATM machines and the bank however cannot completely be blamed for the mentality and culture that surrounds the ATM. Peeping people, door open, large crowds wasting time inside the ATM find roots in the behavior of the students using the machine. A place where an ATM is so important to daily life, such behavior is far from expected.
Sub-edited by Karishma Desai |
