In the education hub of Coimbatore where thousands of students from other cities study, demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes seems to have hit the normal life of the students.
The students say they normally have Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000 a month in the bank account and carry less than Rs. 1,000 as cash. They withdraw money from the ATM when there is a need. Those residing in rented houses pay the monthly rent by cash, while those in hostels (run by the institutions or private players) are able to transfer the rent amount from their account.
However, what has hit these students more is shortage of cash for daily needs such as food, travel, and study materials.
“Those who were preparing for their semester examinations were unable to stand in the long queues to withdraw money,” says a third-year physics students from Erode, who is studying here. Further, though an institution normally has two or three ATMs, cash is not available in most of these.
Many of them have reduced their spending, especially in eating out with friends. The neighbourhood grocery stores do not accept cards and hence, they are unable to buy provisions to cook at home too.
Prabhu, who was in Coimbatore and is studying at Sastra University, said those living in rented houses had a difficult time as they had to go in search of an ATM, were unable to withdraw cash, and were unable to eat out because they did not have enough money.
Sangeetha, a computer science student, says that a day after the semester exams the college in which she is studying in the city asked the students to vacate the hostel. She had just Rs. 1,500 with her in the bank account and could not withdraw money from the ATM. She needed money to travel home and most of the banks were dispensing Rs. 2,000 notes. With the help of another student, she borrowed money and went home. In the recent days, the situation seems to be getting better as banks do not insist on passbook and allow students to withdraw money without it.
