KASHMIR: Dras in Kashmir, which is famous for being the second coldest inhabited place on earth after Siberi, has got its first automated teller machine last week.

The ATM was installed by Jammu & Kashmir Bank as part of its expansion plans in remote areas of the state.Speaking on the occasion Tafazal Hussain, Bank's Executive President said that the bank would open more branches and ATMs in the Ladakh zone in the coming months. Dras had come into the limelight during the Kargil war when the town witnessed heavy shelling. Incidentally, India's highest ATM was installed by Axis Bank at Nathu La in Sikkim at a height of 13,200 feet. The world's most remote ATM is in the Antartic and is maintained by US bank Wells Fargo. J&K Bank has a network of over 530 ATMs and the bank aims to increase the number to 750 by the end of the current financial year. At the same time the bank plas to expand its branch network in Srinagar and far flung areas of the state.