For many people here Thursday was a day set aside to get old currencies of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 denominations in their possession exchanged and to withdraw the permissible Rs.4,000 in cash from their accounts.
There was heavy rush in bank branches across the district and there was no show of frustration or protest from customers as they queued up patiently at the banks here.
Many of them who required cash in bulk were also hard-pressed by the withdrawal limit. “It is a minor inconvenience but not a panicky situation for me,” said Chandralekha Raghunath, who reached her bank branch at the Fort Road here to exchange and withdraw. Employees at the bank were extra helpful in helping their customers, she added.
Narayanan Narichal, a retired Railway employee, also echoed the same view as he filled the form to deposit Rs.10,500 in Rs. 500 denomination in the Syndicate Bank main branch here. Taking the inconvenience in his stride, he said that his only problem was that he had to take copy of identity card along with the form, despite the fact that the bank had all the details of his identity.
The longest queue was seen in front of the main branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) here. People started queuing there from 7 a.m.. However, there was no commotion as bank officials guided them.
For Edmund McGrath from Ireland, who reached here a few days ago. the long queue at the SBI branch was a little worrying. “I landed in Mumbai on Tuesday and took Rs.10,000 from the teller machine in the airport there,” he said adding that he is now running out of cash.
“Much of the manpower in the bank is now being utilised for the exchange and withdrawal operations,” said SBI Deputy Manager Ashok Kumar, who was standing outside the SBI branch and helping customers, including large number of migrant workers. He also said that there was no need for panic as there was adequate quantity of new currency notes.
Lead District Manager P. Santhosh said that the banking operations in the interior parts of the district also witnessed no trouble. After visiting the branches in and around Taliparamba, he said said that efforts had also been taken to ensure supply of Rs.10 coins in places of public utilities such as Railway stations and bus stations.
