14 tonnes of new Rs 500 notes reach Chennai
A few banks in Chennai and Salem began dispensing Rs 500 notes on Thursday, but the supply did not meet the demand.
Chennai: Cash crunch in Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu could ease the next couple of days. The Reserve Bank of India’s regional office here on Friday received 14 tonnes of new Rs 500 notes worth crores of rupees to be dispatched to banks across the state.
The security press at Nasik in Maharashtra flew in the prized consignment from the security press at Nasik in Maharashtra early Friday amid high security. RBI officials were tight-lipped about the worth of the notes that have been received at the Chennai branch, saying revealing such details could breach security.
“Cash that was brought in the aircraft was loaded into two containers that were parked right at the bay where the plane was parked after landing by private security agencies hired by the RBI. Each container had 7 tonnes of Rs 500 notes,” an airport official told Deccan Chronicle seeking anonymity.
Sources at the Chennai airport said an RBI team held extensive talks with the airport management on Thursday about the “top-secret” operation and sought cooperation in executing it without any hitch. Apart from RBI and airport staff, only CISF officials were informed about the arrival of the special aircraft, the sources said.
A few banks in Chennai and Salem began dispensing Rs 500 notes on Thursday, but the supply did not meet the demand. The new notes were flown into Chennai through a special aircraft owned by the Indian Air Force from the Security Press in Nashik in Maharashtra on early Friday morning amid high security.
“People were put to severe hardship since the demonitisation as there were not enough 100-rupee notes; besides, it was difficult to change the new 2000-rupee notes. This latest consignment of 500-rupee notes should provide the much-needed relief to the people. The moment we receive the notes from the RBI, we will load them into ATMs and dispense them at the counters as well,” a senior manager of a PSU bank told Deccan Chronicle.
Currency notes are usually dispatched to regional centres of the Reserve Bank of India from where they are sent to other banks for distribution among the people. However, with the banks being closed for the weekend, it is expected that the new consignment of 500-rupee notes will find their way into the ATM machines early next week.
A small consignment of 500-rupee notes had been received on Thursday and marginally helped ease the pressure in a few ATMs in Salem, besides a few in Chennai.