New Delhi: Serpentine queues were witnessed before banks and ATMs also on the day two of bank commencing operations in the capital after Tuesday’s decision of the government to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as part of measures to crackdown on black money and fake currency. People started queuing up in front of banks and ATMs early in the morning much before they opened. The Initial euphoria over being able to withdraw money evaporated as people found that there were no takers for the new Rs 2000 note which they were getting at banks and ATMs. Despite government's claim that all ATMs would start functioning from today, the reality was that most of them were without cash.
Today they are desperately waiting to be paid in Rs 500 note which has a greater chance of getting changed with vendors and small shopkeepers. Like yesterday, a lot of working people had to take a day off to get their work at banks done. Many, who had returned empty handed yesterday, despite hours of wait, had to borrow Rs 100 notes from relatives and friends. ‘’After trying about half-a-dozen ATMs which were either without cash or not functioning, I have come to the bank to withdraw money only to find that I have no chance before evening,’’ said a pensioner standing in a queue at the Indian Overseas Bank on Parliament street.
A lady standing in a queue at the State bank of India on the Mathura road in South Delhi said she had no money left even to buy milk for her children. However, there were some who said they were happy that the unaccounted money had now been reduced to nothing but added that more arrangements should have been made to avoid suffering of the people. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister last evening thanked the people for the 'patient and orderly manner' in which they were getting the notes exchanged in banks and assured that the Government was 'unwavering' in its effort to create a corruption-free India. However, the Opposition said the measure was causing untold miseries to the common man. (UNI)