Two bank unions on Friday urged Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel to ensure adequate supply of the new Rs 500 notes and bills of lower denominations to tide over the prevailing cash crunch.

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Due to non-availability of adequate quantity of Rs 500 and Rs 100 currency notes, customers are reluctant to accept the newly printed Rs 2,000 bills which they find difficult to spend in the market for want of change, the unions said in a letter to Patel.

The letter has been written by C H Venkatchalam, General Secretary of the All-India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), and S Nagarajan, his counterpart at the All-India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA).

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There is acute shortage of Rs 100 notes and ATMs, including the recalibrated ones, have become non-functional due to the shortage, they said, adding that banks are finding it difficult to face customers demanding the lower denomination currency.

The shortage of currency notes has resulted in tension, exchange of angry words, quarrels between bank staffers and customers. All these are putting mental pressure on bank staffers, the unions said.

There have been instances of angry citizens locking bank branches from outside, Venkatchalam and Nagarajan said.

There are also allegations of RBI supplying more number of currency notes to private banks than their public sector counterparts, they said. 

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