Scramble for Notes: People running out of patience

November 13, 2016 10:21

Chaos reigned outside banks and ATMs across the nation as panicked customers stood in long, serpentine queues for several hours to withdraw cash.

In the absence of proper currency circulation in the system, it is a semi-meltdown of small economic activities in the country, Business Standard reported.

Thankfully, the law and order situation was largely in control even as police had to be called in some places, including in New Delhi, to restore order.

While people were happy by the move to ban black money, the mismanagement has angered them. The situation is worse in villages and towns where ATM penetration is scarce. Most ATMs had to be shut down as people were seen withdrawing the maximum Rs 2,000 allowed per account from multiple accounts they possess, all in Rs 100 notes.

In Moradabad, locals vandalised SBI's Katghar branch gate after the bank stopped operating after 4pm.

The bank security guard said: "The bank closed at 4pm, but people got angry & vandalised properties. They were shouting that operating time of bank was till 8pm."

In Madhya Pradesh's Bardaha village, locals, enraged over not getting ration from a fair price shop due to shortage of cash, allegedly looted groceries from the outlet in protest.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that it would take two-three weeks to recalibrate ATMs across the country for the new notes. "It will be a slow process. Such a big cash replacement cannot happen in a mechanical way overnight," Jaitley said, adding that that it was to maintain secrecy that the two lakh ATM machines of the country were not recalibrated in advance.

But people's patience clearly seems to be running out.

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