Chennai: Petrol pumps will no longer accept old notes with Rs 500 denomination as the deadline set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ended on Friday midnight, while users of toll plazas across the country will have to pay charges.
Owners of petrol pumps heaved a sigh of relief, as they will no longer be forced to accept old Rs 500 notes from Saturday. “We have had a lot of problems for the past few weeks. Though the government asked us to accept payment in old '500 and Rs 1000 notes, we were not given adequate Rs 100 notes to tender change. This resulted in lot of problems to owners of petrol pumps,” owner of a petrol pump located on the suburbs said, seeking anonymity.
Majority of the owners whom Deccan Chronicle spoke to said that several people deliberately came to filling stations to get their Rs 500 notes exchanged, resulting in several problems for the staff. “The problem has finally ended,” another petrol pump owner said.
The Reserve Bank of India had on Thursday said petrol bunks would not accept old denomination notes from Friday midnight. After having suspended toll since November 9, toll plazas across the country would start accepting charges from users on all highways. And the toll plazas would accept only “valid” currencies.
