In Singtam, where ATMs won’t dispense Any Time Money ANAND OBEROI

SINGTAM, 04 August: Mohan has a stressful job. And not just because he is a guard at an ATM [SBI Singtam]. His stress comes from having to deal with a march of unhappy customers everyday who come to avail ATM services but cannot because the automatic teller machine will not deliver on its Any-Time Money commitment. Often times, the customers barrage him with complaints even though everyone knows there is nothing he can do about the situation.
And this is just one ATM counter we are talking about, with almost 9 ATMs belonging to different banks here at Singtam bazaar, this is a similar reaction from almost all the security guards on duty at the booths here.
The problem behind the erratic service on offer here is that most of the ATMs here are either out of cash or their respective ‘services’ are down. An official from a bank informs that this is not a case of Singtam alone and that Rangpo, Namchi and most of the towns in the state except Gangtok have been similarly hamstrung because of the internet services [or rather the lack thereof] being provided by BSNL.
“BSNL has failed to deliver efficient and effective service to the banks since most of the time the ‘Server is Down’. Until and unless BSNL delivers better service, this trend of unsatisfactory ATM and banking services in Singtam and other towns will remain. Monsoons means that the server is down for almost five to six hours at a stretch most times,” complains the bank official.