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Bangalore Police’s strict orders to provide security at ATMs has forced a few banks in the city to redeploy some of their security personnel and avoid incurring additional cost.
However, as an interim measure, banks are now planning to shut down low-transactions ATMs at night or relocate them to safer lcoations based on usage patterns.
The Bangalore Police had recently instructed banks operating ATMs in the city to post full-time security personnel, install CCTV cameras both inside and outside and install alarms at all sites.
State Bank of Mysore, which has 193 ATMs in Bangalore city, is planning to shut a few low-transactions ones at night. “We are just exploring the option. A final decision is yet to be taken,” said N. Parthasarathy, General Manager, State Bank of Mysore.
A senior official at Canara Bank said “We have more than 500 ATMs in Bangalore city. Recently, we met service providers and vendors on how to provide security at ATMs.”
Bangalore, with a population of 85 lakhs, has 3,472 ATMs spread across the city. Most of these are located in the southern and eastern parts of the city where a majority of IT/ITeS companies are located. The employee base of these IT/ITeS companies is around 10 lakh, most of them high earners and ATM users.
So the police’s order on ATMs has affected these residents the most. Bhargava, and IT professional working on Bannerghatta Road, said, “Last week, I faced a problem drawing my salary from an ATM. Normally, I withdraw on the way to work or while returning home, but now I see many ATMs shut, forcing me to come back in the morning.”
Similarly, Ashoka M, a management trainee in a private company, sought permission from his superiors to leave office during the day. “I do not keep money at home, I draw only when ever I need it. Since none of the ATMs in Banaswadi open early, I have come to city centre (Cunningham road) to withdraw money.”
The ATM security issue is still, to a large extent, Bangalore-centric. The police in other cities in Karnataka are planning to adopt similar measures for the over 9,000 ATMs in the State.
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