The time sought by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for easing of the demonetisation woes running off on Friday, gloom is still hovering over the trading community based in Dehradun. Most of the traders trading from different markets in the city said that they have no expectations left from the Modi government, given the latter’s stress on a switch to cashless trading. The people are spending money very cautiously, resulting in plummeting sale volume, they said. The traders who sell luxurious items like refrigerators and television sets are bearing the maximum brunt of the cash crunch, reducing sale to almost a cipher, runs the critical refrain among the aggrieved trading community.
However, some say that things are now looking up. Some are going for the swipe machines to restore sale to normalcy while many are still steering clear of cashless transaction, fearing that they would have to cough up heavy taxes. Mention worthy, the Centre has slashed taxes for cashless transaction by two percent.
Anand who sells refrigerators, television sets and other electronic gadgets from his shop at Dhamawala said, “My business has seen a slump of around 80 per cent following the note ban. I do not hope that things would be normal in the next six months. Most of the people are not interested to purchase items through Paytm, credit and debit cards. I have installed Paytm facility, but not to much avail,” he said despairingly. Another trader Ramesh said that it was futile to hope that the Centre would help them recover the loss they had incurred in the aftermath of the move. “Insisting on cashless transaction, they can hardly care for our plight. The people remaining cash-strapped, they are wary of purchasing costly items. Even Paytms are not enthusing them much,” he said. However, he added that things would get back to normalcy in six months by the inexorable norms of economy.
Kashmir Singh, owner of a cloth shop located at Babuganj in lakkhibagh, echoed the same story of trading dipping by around 80 per cent. “People are not going for the expensive dressing materials with the cash crunch lingering on. The last month’s marriage season ended in a washout for most of us. Things would hardly improve unless the Centre lifts the withdrawal limit of Rs 24, 000 a week from banks and Rs 2,500 per day from ATMs,” he said.
Things in the jewllery shops are the same, demonetisation deterring people from buying. A Paltan Bazaar -based bullion trader Afzal said that things were utterly depressing for him. “I applied for point of sale (PoS) machine. But I am yet to get it from bank. I wonder when the sale would pick up sufficiently to help me recover the loss,” he said. Sukhveer Singh, owner of appliances showroom, however, said that his business though affected grimly in the initial days of the note ban move was looking up presently. “I am optimistic of the future. The drive was an imperative to weed out black money. Besides, it is wake- up time for the traders. We must shun the tendency to doge taxes. The transition to cashless economy is a hazardous process, but it would make trading transparent to the benefit of all,” he said.