Mobile ATM makes withdrawals easy

04/04/2020, VIVEK NARAYANAN,CHENNAI

To prevent crowding at ATMs in St. Thomas Mount police district and to help families of police personnel and residents withdraw money without hassle, the police have tied up with the State Bank of India to operate a solar-powered mobile ATM.

There are 15 police stations in the St. Thomas Mount police district and there are hundreds of policemen living in the police quarters in the jurisdiction. Besides, there are thousands of apartment complexes.

K. Prabakar, Deputy Commissioner, St. Thomas Mount, spoke to the State Bank of India, Guindy, and arranged for the solar-powered mobile ATM.

“It will go to apartment complexes and police quarters, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., every day, till April 15. The machine and the van are disinfected frequently and people are made to use hand sanitisers before entering the vehicle,” the Deputy Commissioner said.

People are made to follow physical distancing norms while entering the vehicle to withdraw money. “Now we can withdraw money at our doorsteps,” said I. Senthil Kumar, who works in the St. Thomas Mount Deputy Commissioner’s office.

D. Kesvan, head constable, Tambaram police station, said such ATMs were helpful. “We no longer have to enter ATMs that are crowded at the beginning of the month,” he said.