ATM Out of service at 14,400 ft

GANGTOK, October 26: The country’s and probably the world’s highest ATM counter of Union Bank of India (UBI) stationed at Kupup area near the mountainous corridor of Nathu La at an altitude above 14,400 ft is presently ‘out of service’ for the past one month.
The ‘out of service’ pasted at the ATM counter for the past one month is a disappointment to army personnel located in the area and hundreds of tourists who daily flock the famous Baba Mandir complex where the UBI machine occupies a prominent corner.
Army personnel manning the hordes of tourists and vehicles vying for a foothold in the complex informed that the ATM machine had stopped giving services ‘a month back’. Technicians had visited the counter a fortnight ago but could not fix the technical snags that led to the grounding of the machine.
It may be recalled that the UBI ATM counter had been launched with much fanfare on April 6, 2007 with the UBI chairman-cum-managing director MV Nair inaugurating the ATM, hailed as the country’s highest ATM counter.
The UBI had set up its 777th ATM at Kupup with an intention not only to offer its services to the army personnel here at the border but also to station itself in a prominent tourist spot to catch the eyeballs of hundreds of tourists visiting Baba Mandir complex daily.
The UBI chairman had said at that time that the tourists visiting Baba Mandir can feel a sense of pride and achievement by withdrawing money for commercial purposes at the highest ATM.
However, tourists visiting the UBI ATM at Baba Mandir complex have experienced more disappointment than satisfaction owing to the disorder within the machine.