CHENNAI: Thursday marks one full month since demonetisation was announced. But the chaos and queues outside banks and ATMs have only grown over the days — and it is only the commoner who does not get money. Bigwigs and those with influential contacts have been generously getting the new valid notes, especially the highest denomination of Rs 2,000 — and the latest seizure of '88 crore in new valid notes from a Chennai-based businessman on Thursday gave much credence to what was only being murmured earlier.
More than 50 to 60 per cent of the ATMs in the city continue to be offline even after a month, causing indescribable inconvenience to the people, especially the salaried class who have been struggling since the beginning of the month to withdraw their salaries credited some seven to eights days back. And majority of the people, who still get their salaries in hot currency, are yet to receive them. Banks have started displaying boards prominently outside their branches saying “No cash “ or “Only Rs 2,000 available” and feign ignorance if asked why lower denomination currencies are not available.
“I got my salary credited into my bank account on December 1. But a week has passed and I have been able to withdraw only Rs 2,000 and I have exhausted the money now. What do I do for expenses? And thankfully, I am a bachelor and I can only sympathise with people who manage families,” Raj Kumar, a mechanical engineer, said. He also scoffs at the government for not allowing common man to withdraw more than 24,000 a week and giving all the valid notes to “businessmen and influential through the back door.”
A senior manager of a PSU bank in Chennai says the RBI gives only “limited cash” to them and that too only Rs 2,000 notes. “I have to return several of my customers empty-handed since majority of the people who come wants only Rs 100 or Rs 50 notes. Most of the salaried people want these lower denomination notes for spending in the market. But we don’t get them in abundance,” he said, seeking anonymity.
Another manager said if the branch asks for Rs 25 lakh, the RBI gives Rs 20 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes and only the rest Rs 5 lakh is given in Rs 100 notes. “How do we give Rs 100 notes to every customer? We have our own limitations and we can’t help everyone,” he said. “For one month we have waited. But how long can we keep waiting? We can’t be waiting for eternity. We need a solution immediately,” Anitha, a housewife, said.
