Kozhikode: There was a huge rush at almost all the banks in the city even before they opened for transactions on Thursday. Customers were seen in serpentine queues in main branches like SBI in Mananchira and SBT on Kannur road. The police also had a tough time dealing with the unexpected crowd. However, there were no untoward incidents. At the head post office that caters to 80 post offices in the district, the cash reached only in the afternoon and this created chaos among those who were waiting from the morning.
However, the crowd dissipated as Rs 30 lakh was brought for immediate transaction. In the absence of any directions from the top level, the treasury also could not cater to the needs of the public. The sub-treasury office in Kozhikode said that transactions could be carried out only through the branches of the SBI, as per the earlier arrangement and no change had been made in light of the demonetization.
Even for small amounts, those remitting challans had to queue up along with the rest, as the cops who were regulating were clueless about whether they should be asked to line up separately. Later, bank officials made arrangements for separate slots for pensioners and those remitting challans. Chartered accountants made a quick buck out of the situation. Requesting anonymity, some of them revealed that they were bombarded with requests from clients for consultations on how unaccounted money could be made accountable.
