The transition from old currency notes of Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 denomination to new and more secure Rs.500 and Rs.2000 notes had its impact on businesses across the city, right from the early hours of Wednesday.
People had to withhold household cash transactions and even drop travel plans due to the short supply of Rs.100 and currency notes of smaller value that are to be exchanged for the existing series of Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 notes. This was the scene everywhere as traders refused to accept Rs.1,000 and Rs. 500 notes.
Cash registers at the railway reservation counters were ringing as usual but only to the extent the public tendered notes of Rs.100 and smaller denomination as the availability of small notes was a conspicuous problem.
The passengers were, however, unwilling to buy the railway staff’s ‘we don’t have change’ theory. Some of them had to run around for petty cash but to no avail, as the problem was all-pervasive.
Scenes at bus station
Similar scenes were witnessed at Pandit Nehru Bus Station and also in the moving buses of APSRTC. Serpentine queues were seen at toll plazas on the National Highways since dawn with the staff not accepting the banned currency. The problem was eased only after the Centre announced lifting of toll tax till November 11.
“The situation was bad at ticket-issuing counters as the staff insisted on Rs.100 and Rs.50 notes. Even at hotels and tea stalls on platforms, the demonetised notes were rejected, putting the passengers to a lot of trouble,” said a railway passenger, Ram Naik, of Madhya Pradesh.
At the Gannavaram airport, there was not much problem as there were only a small number of the air passengers who purchased tickets across the counters. On the other side, auto-rickshaw drivers were reluctant to accept the high-value notes from passengers who did not make their own transport arrangements. “The auto drivers were initially enquiring about the availability of Rs.100 and Rs.50 notes, otherwise they were not providing their service from the airport. The government should have taken proper measures for the exchange of small notes before taking its decision,” opined a passenger at the airport.
The only places which were thronged by the public in large numbers were fuel outlets, where the phased-out currency notes were to be taken for selling the petroleum products. However, the paucity of smaller notes disrupted the business badly.
It was a smooth going in hospitals which were mandated to accept the Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 notes. Gold sale and purchase was stalled due to cancellation of the big notes and no customers were seen at jewellery showrooms. Asked whether public can deposit Rs. 1000 and Rs.500 in post offices from Thursday, staff at Gandhinagar Post Office said they can exchange notes once the Reserve Bank of India distribute new currency to the banks and post offices.
Notwithstanding the teething problems posed by the new currency regime, there was, by and large, a consensus that it was a welcome decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the rider that more time should have been given for exchanging the ‘demonetised’ notes.
