There was no relief for people even on the 7th consecutive day post-demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs1,000 as long queues were seen outside Dena Bank, Punjab National Bank, HDFC, State Bank, Indusland Bank, Kotak Mahindra bank in South Delhi’s lodhi Road, Defence Colony and Kotla Mubarakpur.
People waited for hours outside banks and ATMs to get their turn. However, seating arrangements were made for senior citizens and separate lines for women were seen outside Indian Bank.
Ranjilal, who works as a painter, said, “Since demonetisation I have to come to the bank every third day as I earn Rs500 on daily wage basis. So we do not have other options except of getting Rs500 notes or we will get payment after one month if we do not accept the notes from our employer.”
Some people from CIPl Foundation were seen serving tea and water outside every bank and ATM in Defence Colony area for the queued people. Vinod Kumar, managing director of CIPl said, “ Our office is based in Jangpura, so we are trying to provide tea and water to the people standing in queues outside the banks. People are waiting since early morning, including women and senior citizens, so we decided to reach out to every nearby bank to facilitate the common people. This would help people keep their calm”
While waiting outside Dena Bank in lodhi Road,Vishal Sharma, a businessman, said, “I am waiting here since 6 am but didn’t get my turn yet. It is very annoying that bank people are not coordinating properly as so many people have come here in a hope to get their notes exchanged in order to meet their basic needs.”
Another reason why there are big queues is because banks are not opening at the right time. The official time is 10 am but some banks opened close to 12 pm,” said Aarti, a Delhi University student.
Meanwhile, one of the security personnel identified as BS Yadav posted outside PNB bank at lodhi Colony harassed and misbehaved with people including women and elderly people.