*ATMs Sanitisation should be made mandatory*

It’s a well known fact that lift buttons are a big source/medium for spreading viruses. Due to the ongoing lockdown, most of the lifts in offices are in-operational. The only lifts that would be working these days are the ones in residential buildings and the residents should be advised to follow social distancing and sanitisation norms.

However, the bigger risk towards which hardly any Indian bank is paying attention is the risk of Corona virus spread through ATMs. The risk has become manifold considering that the Government of India has made direct transfer to Jan Dhan accounts of the poor who would naturally be going to the ATMs to withdraw cash for their daily expenses.

While there are people like me residing in the metros who use mobile wallets, yet there are some like the vegetable vendors coming to my lane who don’t use mobile wallets and therefore even I need to use ATM to withdraw cash once in a fortnight or so to pay to such people.

Suggest the following standard operating procedure should be made mandatory for all banks operating ATMs:
1. Nobody should be allowed inside ATM booth without wearing mask
2. Guard on duty at ATM should sanitise hands of customers going inside ATM booth (like they are doing at grocery shops)
3. Guard should wear gloves and have sanitiser bottle in hand with a tissue roll and should sanitise touchscreen and numeric pad of ATM with sanitiser after each transaction
4. Ensure social distancing is maintained outside in the queue and inside the booth too. Only one person per ATM machine should be allowed inside the ATM booth.

In case of non-compliance, DC/SDM/SHO should be empowered to arrest the concerned Bank Branch Manager, under whose jurisdiction the ATM falls, for dereliction of duty.