Six months pregnant, 25-year-old Farmina travelled 16-km in an auto-rickshaw on Sunday morning from Jhunda village to get Rs.4,000 exchanged at the State Bank of India branch here. Unable to get the money exchanged for the past two days, she reached the bank around 5 a.m., determined to get the cash on Sunday.
No luck for past two days
“My husband is a daily-wager at a mining site and is unwell. We do not even have money for his medicines. I have been coming to the bank for the past two days. Whatever little cash I had has been exhausted on travelling. If I do not get the money today, I will not have enough to even feed my family,” said the mother of four.
Around noon, the crowd outside the bank’s boundary turned violent after the police tried to prevent them from jumping the wall to enter the premises. The crowd also started throwing stones, as a result of which many of those inside the bank premises, including the elderly and women, were injured.
The SBI branch in Pinangwa is the only bank within a 20-km radius offering exchange. A large number of people have been travelling long distances to get money exchanged for their daily needs.
In line for eight hours
Imtiaz, 19, came from Tigaon, around 20 km away, on his motorcycle to withdraw cash. “I had come with my mother on Saturday, but we had to leave after waiting for almost eight hours as people started getting restless and the situation appeared to be turning violent. I arrived at 4 a.m. on Sunday and have been waiting for my turn for the past eight hours. The Sarv Haryana Gramin Bank near our village is not exchanging money,” said the student.
Raghubir Prajapati, 38, has been visiting the bank for the past three days to get cash for his mother’s treatment.
“I was scheduled to go to Jaipur on Saturday for my mother’s surgery. I managed to deposit the cash on Sunday. Since just one transaction is allowed per day per savings account, I will have to return on Monday to withdraw the money,” said the labourer.
Staff of just two people
SBI Pinangwa (Field Officer) Mohammad Sahid told The Hindu that the other three banks in the area — Sarv Haryana Gramin Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank and Co-operative Bank — were not exchanging money due to non-availability of cash.
“We don’t have enough cash or staff to handle the rush. None of the ATMs is working. We have a staff of just two people and both are working overtime,” explained Mr. Sahid.
“My son has been going to SBI for the past four days, but he has been unable to deposit cash because of the long queues. It is sowing season and a farmer needs at least Rs.10,000 to Rs.15,000 per acre for seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. We do not have enough to even meet our most basic needs like sugar, milk and vegetables,” said Aas Mohammad, adding that patience wearing thin fast.
Suleman, a local, said: “How come there are no police officers, big businessmen and rich people in queues? Do they not need the money or have to deposit cash? While the poor are suffering in long queues, the rich and the influential use their contacts to get the things done without any hassle. This is leading to much resentment among the public.”
The former Sarpanch of Papda village, Sujau Deen, said there are no government outlet nearby supplying fertilizers and so shopkeepers are charging Rs.100-Rs.200 extra per bag. They are not accepting Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes either.
Salt shortage rumour
“People do not have cash and shopkeepers are not ready to sell goods on credit. Prices of essential commodities such as sugar and salt have gone up. Sugar is already selling for Rs.70 per kg in Pinangwa. How long can this continue?” said Mr. Deen.
Adding fuel to fire, rumours are spreading quickly in the region. Two days ago, there were rumours about salt shortage, following which the bags of salt were stolen from outside some shops. “Most shopkeepers leave bags of salt outside at night. On Friday night, several bags of salt were stolen from outside my shop and other shops around midnight following rumours of salt shortage. We all rushed to the shops after the news spread, but could not find anyone. Many shopkeepers even took advantage of the situation and sold salt at Rs.50 to Rs.100 per kg,” said Fazaruddin, a shopkeeper.
Shahid, another shopkeeper, conceded that wholesalers had refused to supply goods on credit. In turn, he added, the shopkeepers too have stopped selling on credit.
“Wholesalers from Hodal had come two days ago and refused to supply on credit. So we too have stopped selling on credit. Most of the shopkeepers have closed their shops as there are no customers with cash,” he added.
Summing up the situation, Fatte Mohammad said weddings have been cancelled, patients were suffering without treatment and the poor have been unable to feed their families.
“There is complete chaos. If this situation continues for long, it may lead to unrest and anything might happen,” said Fatte.
