Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda felt the pain of demonetisation when he tried to settle the bills for the treatment of his brother D.V. Bhaskar Gowda who passed away at a private hospital here on Tuesday.
The hospital refused to accept old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes on Monday evening as partial payment. The family then settled the bills through two cheques before shifting the body to Devaragunda village in Sullia taluk for the final rites.
The former Minister J. Krishna Palemar, who was with Mr. Sadananda Gowda inside the hospital, told The Hindu that the Union Minister questioned Kasturba Medical College Hospital for not accepting the old notes till November 24. Before leaving, Mr. Sadananda Gowda told presspersons, “Now I can understand the plight of the common man.”
Saghir Siddiqui, head, KMC Hospital, told The Hindu that there is a clear direction from the government that old notes can be accepted till November 24 only by government hospitals.
The hospital has given this in writing on the request of Mr. Sadananda Gowda.
