As if there is no tomorrow, millions of holders of Rs500 and Rs1,000 currency notes created a panic like situation at banks across the country on Thursday as they made a beeline to deposit their old notes or collect new ones, even as the Government clarifed that there was no need for alarm.
As banks opened up after a day of closure, thousands came in hordes and queued up before them. However, they had to wait for hours to carry out transactions. In many cases, customers began to line up before banks from 4 am onwards.
Needless to say, banks failed to cope with such a massive surge in demand. Supply of the new Rs2,000 note was still limited and banks could not meet the demand for low denomination notes.
In the national Capital, the Delhi Police made elaborate arrangements to maintain law and order, but the city witnessed instances of angry exchanges and skirmishes between the people and police personnel.
Amid frayed tempers, there were complaints galore that the stocks of new hard-to-fake Rs500 and Rs2,000 notes were exhausted within hours, though the old Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes were being accepted by banks. In some interior areas, some banks and post offices reported that they were yet to receive new notes.
Only a maximum of Rs4,000 per person in cash in exchange of the old Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes was being given per person after submission of valid identity proof. Anything over and above this value was credited to bank accounts.
In Delhi, at many places, people had to return disappointed because many banks ran out of cash just hours after opening for the day.
However, at some places, desperate people kept waiting outside the banks even after they closed for the day with the staff still inside. There was a huge rush of customers, many of them angry, outside Corporation Bank in neighbouring Noida Sector 16 when it closed at 6 pm.
Similar scenes played out at nearby Kotak Mahindra and Canara Bank, where people argued with bank officials to let them in. “I have no cash since yesterday. Will anybody make them understand the hardships I have gone through in the last two daysIJ” shouted Rama Krishnan, an HR executive with a technology firm.
However, many banks worked till late. An official of HDFC Bank in Delhi’s Model Town said they disbursed lakhs of rupees to desperate customers till late on Thursday evening but could not cater to all. Those left out were asked to come again on Friday, the official said, refusing to reveal his name. Bank officials stood outside distributing withdrawal or exchange forms to customers prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India. The Government had said Rs4,000 worth of old high value currencies could be exchanged daily but most banks halved this amount to cater to more customers.
Anil Wadhwani, an executive with a retail chain, realised this to his horror after standing in a queue outside ICICI Bank in Delhi’s lajpat Nagar for five hours.
“I had brought four Rs1,000 notes but could only exchange Rs2,000,” Wadhwani said as he left the bank.
“The problem is indeed massive for everyone,” said Naresh Kumar, a South Delhi resident. “Now the Rs500 note is so common that virtually no one is unaffected. This is different from the earlier demonetisations.
“The tragedy has worsened because it is near impossible to even enter banks now to do NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) and RTGS (Real-time gross settlement systems),” he added. Anxious customers also crowded at post offices.
For many who managed to get hold of the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes, it was like a war won. Many clicked selfies and put them up on social media. But outside, they encountered fresh problems as they could not get the notes changed due to a virtual absence of Rs 100 and Rs 50 and lower denomination notes in the markets.
In Mumbai, several bank officials said most of the branches witnessed unprecedented rush and therefore, they have sought the deployment of police personnel to prevent any law and order problem. The customers, however, seemed frustrated with some banks exchanging only Rs 2,000 with Rs 100 notes.
“I was in queue for four hours to exchange Rs 4,000. But unfortunately I was permitted only Rs 2,000 to be exchanged that too with Rs 100 denomination,” said Ashwin Kadam, who stood in a queue since 6 am at the branch of Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank limited in Vikhroli in Mumbai.
“I ran out of cash to meet my daily needs. If I do not get new notes, I would be in big trouble. To make sure that I get new notes today, I came here very early. However, many others were already in the queue when I reached at 6 am,” said A Patel of New Ranip, who has a bank account in SBI in Ahmedabad.