Bengaluru: Counterfeit notes have arrived hot on the heels of the new Rs 2000 denomination that has just flooded the city. Although banks and their ATMs are handing them out in plenty, the fact that there is no clarity on safety and security has made traders and consumers alike wary of dealing with them.
According to Mrs. Krithika Rao, a resident of Basavanagudi, a local vendor refused to accept a Rs 2000 note on Sunday. “He informed me that people are attempting to take photo copies of note. No one is aware of the safety features. So he rejected it. I was forced to pay in Rs.100 denominations,” she said.
Local traders aren’t the only ones being cautions. Service providers across the spectrum, doctors included, are refusing to accept them. “Compared to the old Rs.1,000 note, the newly-released Rs.2,000 note is very thin and short. The common concern is that a high-end colour-xerox machine can replicate it,” said Shashi Bhat, a trader in Vijayanagar.
“Arrests from places like Mysuru are adding fuel to the fire,” he explained.
Bank officials echo the sentiment too. “The main concern is that nobody has change to break a Rs 2000 note. Safety-related issues are only adding to the confusion. In banks, we can trace them easily, but having fake notes circulated amongst the general public is a scary thing,” said a bank manager on condition of anonymity.
