BENGALURU: It is not just the common citizen who is affected by the recent demonetisation, even state tourism minister Priyank Kharge had to face the heat during a trip to London and could just scrape through with the Indian currency he had!
The minister told Deccan Chronicle that he left for London a day before the demonetisation exercise happened and sympathised with people struggling to get the new currency. Terming the move as badly planned, he said, “I wonder how the central government could come up with such a move without adequate planning. Foreigners who had exchanged their currency for the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, are struggling as these are no more legal tender. Ministry of External Affairs, Immigration department and Ministry of Tourism are not making any efforts to inform foreign travellers about the demonetisation move. I have already sent a message to the Union Finance Minister to make arrangements so that tourists and foreigners are not affected.”
Demonetisation has hit the tourism sector hard with foreigners who visit the city the worst affected. Hundreds of forex units across the city have taken a beating as they are not able to cater to the demands of foreign visitors whose maximum limit for exchange of Indian currency is Rs 50,000 a week.
A foreign visitor from the US who did not want to be named, landed in the startup hub of Bengaluru, Koramangala three days ago for a business deal. "Every minute counts for me. Even though I have cards, they cannot be used everywhere and every time. When I visited the nearby forex unit, they gave me Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes which are of no use." he said and added that it was with the help of old friends that he was managing his expenses.
Mr Madhusudhan, Managing Director of Prithvi Exchange (Currency Exchange Services) said, "The withdrawal limit for current account which was initially
Rs 10,000 per week, has now been increased to Rs 50,000 per week. But the amount which we withdraw is not enough to cater to the needs of foreigners who visit us."
- Long queues continued before banks and ATMs in the city on Thursday, the ninth day since demonetisation came into effect. A common complaint was about ATMs continuing to display out of order sign boards.
- Several people also complained about being issued soiled and mutilated 100 rupee notes. "I doubt anyone will accept them,” said Mr. Vikram Rao, who got his cash from a private bank in Richmond Town.
- The decision to apply indelible ink on customers to prevent multiple visits by commission agents seems to have worked as bank officials reported a dip in people coming to exchange old denomination notes for new on Thursday.
- "The number has come down by nearly half when compared to Wednesday. This proves that many of those standing in the queue till yesterday were commission agents,” said a bank officer from Malleshwaram
Rs 2,000 notes through ATMs
To the surprise of city residents, many ATMs were filled with currency notes of Rs 100 and Rs 2,000 denomination around 7 pm on Thursday. As a result thousands of residents were able to withdraw money till late night. According to the sources all the SBI ATMs were functional and dispensing cash till late night. However, most private bank ATMs continue to remain closed.
