Demonetisation woes haunt commoners

Anantapur: Demonetisation has landed people and economy in disarray and the woes of cash crunch is far from over. Banks are beset with high value denomination currency crunch and it is a common sight in the city to see people standing in long ques at the bank ATMs.

The woes that began with scrapping of 500 and 1,000 denomination notes has compounded the problems all the more with the introduction of high value Rs 2,000 denomination.

Bank managers, who spoke to The Hans India and begged not to be identified stated that the introduction of Rs 2,000 denomination has given new impetus to black money hoarders, who found a blessing in disguise in the high value Rs 2,000 denomination vote.

The Rs 2,000 denomination deficiency was felt very much during the past two months when campaigning and election was in progress in Karnataka. The same was felt even during the Uttar Pradesh elections.

A high-ranking official of SBI, who refused to be identified stated Rs 2,000 currency note as well as the Rs 500 denomination would continue to elude the common man until the end of 2019 general elections.

He says that according to RBI enough quantity of the said notes are in circulation and that they deny any shortage of the high value note. In practice, there is shortage of the note because it is hoarded in the homes of the moneyed people. Even, if the notes are hoarded by a section of the moneyed people it is construed as notes being in circulation in the society, according to RBI.

Suresh, a lecturer in Government college told The Hans India that the demonetisation did not affect the sections for whom it was aimed at, but it effected the common people and tax payers. Why should I stand in the queue for half an hour to withdraw my paltry Rs 20,000 at the ATM. What sort of life is this that makes run from pillar to post for drawing his money, he bemoaned.

Sarala, a central government employee says that people are losing faith in the banking system. That is why many people are disinclined to deposit their money in the banks. A Deputy Manager of an ICICI Bank has admitted the currency crunch has multiplied the woes the people. He said that the banks role is very limited in the matter as we can only disburse what has been allotted to us, he added.

Indira, a housewife said that she was given bundles of Rs 10 and Rs 20 denomination notes when she went to draw Rs 50,000 from her account. She said that she could not carry the bundles of small denomination notes during the Karnataka elections. All 2,000 notes were sent to Karnataka.

This is a deliberate attempt to encourage electoral corruption by the Central government for disbursing the same to voters, bank customers say.
Assistant General Manager of SBI M Srinivas told The Hans India that there are 149 ATMs operating in the district.

Due to shortage of high value notes, the customers had no choice but to pick up Rs 100 notes from ATMs. Since not much Rs 100 denomination could be stored in the ATM machines and therefore long queues for cash. Since 2016, the demonetisation demon has gripped the people.

He said that remittances in banks have declined as nobody is sure they can withdraw their money when needed from banks. These problems may persist until the end of next general elections, the bank sources muttered.