Hit by cash crunch, people perform ATM's 'thithi'

Affected by cash shortage after demonetisation of high-value notes, people from different parts of the city on Friday staged a protest to vent their anger against non-functional ATMs.

They performed ‘thithi’ (death ceremony) of a dummy ATM at Mysore Bank Circle, to highlight the ‘death’ of ATMs in the city. More than 100 people took part in the ceremony that was performed in accordance with Hindu customs.

After the protesters placed a garland around the ATM, a priest performed the rituals. After the two-hour-long rituals, vada and ladoos were distributed to public as prasada. Members of non-governmental organisations and Janata Dal (United) also ­­­took part in the protest. The protestors said they will soon send the ‘thithi’ prasada along with photos of the ceremony to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, through courier to highlight the woes of common man.

“For the past one month, we have been facing problems due to demonetisation. To add to our woes, ATMs are not functioning. While the rich are accumulating currency illegally, the poor are deprived of even small amounts of cash," said Kumar Jahgirdar, President, Child Rights and Shared Parenting.