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G.K. Nair

ATMs float too. But for the country's first ever floating ATM, the commissioning of three bridges linking the islands in the Ernakulam backwaters with the mainland late last year has turned out to be a setback.

When the ATM was launched by State Bank of India on February 10, 2004, on a jangar owned by the Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) at the city's busiest ferry, it was found to be a viable proposition as the vessel used to carry around 5,000 passengers everyday from Ernakulam to the Vypeen Islands in 30 trips.

But the situation has changed after the Goshree bridges were opened to road traffic. The number of passengers and vehicles using the ferry has dropped substantially, forcing the KSINC to move the jangar to other locations to make its ferry operations viable.

According to SBI sources, on average, there were 75 transactions every day. After the bridges were opened to traffic, the transactions dropped to below 50. The KSINC has now proposed to ply the jangar with the ATM from Fort Kochi to some other destinations and the bank has, in principle, agreed to the proposal, the sources told eWorld. The bank had invested about Rs 6 lakh to set up the ATM. The cost of maintenance, electricity etc, are also borne by the bank, while the KSINC does not charge anything for carrying the ATM.

However, bank sources anticipate that there will be more users of the ATM as the tourists cruising in the backwaters using the KSINC's vessels avail themselves of this facility. The jangar will be docked at suitable locations to promote use of the ATM, they say. The ATM was supplied by NCR Corporation. The connectivity has been provided by Reliance Infocomm using CDMA technology.

Picture by K.K. Mustafah

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