Postal department introduces currency disbursement van

Apart from the currency exchange facility at the post offices, the mobile unit was planned to reach out to the public.

Officials from the postal department in the city set up a mobile currency exchange counter at the CMCH on Wednesday, where patients and members of the public, can exchange Rs.500 and Rs. 1,000.–PHOTO: M. GOVARTHAN

These are areas that do not have a bank or where a large number of people gather every day and the Postal Department is trying to reach out to the public in these places.

A mobile currency exchange van has been pressed into service to Government Hospitals, maternity homes, tribal areas, hamlets in the foot hills and remote villages in the region to help the public exchange Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 denomination notes by producing the prescribed documents.

Postmaster General for western region Sharda Sampath told

The Hindu that on Wednesday, 83 applications were received at the camp at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital and Rs. 3.5 lakh was the amount that was exchanged. Apart from the currency exchange facility at the post offices, the mobile unit was planned to reach out to the public. At the Government hospital, there will be several patients and their relatives who would want to exchange the demonetised currencies. Hence, it was decided to have a camp at the hospital here on Wednesday and Thursday. “The number of days that the camp will be held at a location depends on the need in that area and also on availability of cash,” she said. The decision to conduct a mobile camp is taken at the local level, depending on the money availability for that post office. A camp was held at Yercaud on Tuesday. The public will have to bring the right identity card to benefit from these camps, she said.