Close on the heels of a similar decision taken by the Union Surface Transport Ministry for national highways, the Maharashtra Government on Wednesday evening announced the suspension toll collection on all the State highways till the midnight of November 11, in a bid to provide relief to the beleaguered vehicle owners and operators.
“The decision to suspend toll collection till the midnight of Friday will also provide relief to people arriving in Mumbai from various suburbs and other places through various entry points,” an official spokesperson said.
In another relief to Mumbaikars, the Maharashtra Government directed the management Mumbai Metro to accept the de-monetised currency notes of the denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 for the sale of railway tickets during the next couple days. The directive followed complaints from commuters that they were facing inconvenience due to the lack of adequate number of currency notes of the denomination of Rs 100 and less.
In a televised statement, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured the people-especially the farmers and housewives-that they would not lose any money because of the Centre’s decision to demonitise the currencies of the denomination of Rs 1000 and Rs 500.
“There is no need for people to get panicked over the prospect of losing their money because of the demonetisation, as the deadline for exchanging the old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 is December end. I request people to avoid creating commotion at banks while seeking exchange of old currency notes for new ones. let all welcome and co-operate with the Centre in the implementation of the decision taken to fight black money and corruption,” the Chief Minister said.
lauding the Centre’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, Governor of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra Ch Vidyasagar Rao said, “The Prime Minister’s bold decision will help to curb counterfeit currency, and the fake currency used by terrorists and anti-social elements. It will further help to unearth black money and would add more value to India’s Rupee and pave the way for economic prosperity”.
Meanwhile, the State-run oil and gas companies-Indian Oil Corporation limited, Bharat Petroleum limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation limited and Gas Authority of India limited –directed their retail outlets and CNG stations to accept the old currency notes of the denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 till the midnight of November 11.
“There is no shortage of petroleum products. Consumers need not panic and may purchase only the quantity of fuel required to meet their need,” the oil and gas companies stated in a statement.
Huge queues of people were witnessed at the petrol-diesel-CNG stations across the metropolis and suburbs. Taking advantage of the situation, the owners of the fuel stations had put notices saying that the vehicle owners would have to purchase fuel for the entire amount of Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 –a restriction that was being resisted by the two-wheeler owners who normally purchase petrol for amounts below Rs 300 at one go.