Currency chaos: Tasmac officials issued memos
About 20 shops across the City were identified to have been accepting the scrapped currencies beyond November 9.
Chennai: Tasmac salesmen who had been accepting demonetised currencies and have been identified were being issued charge-memos. Sources said that the drive had still not discouraged bar owners from accepting currencies of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
About 20 shops across the City were identified to have been accepting the scrapped currencies beyond November 9. A similar number of cases were flagged in the rest of 31 districts in the State, which has as many as 6,323 liquor outlets operated by TASMAC.
The corresponding staffers were subsequently identified and were issued charge-memos. The present arrangement in TASMAC shops is to remit the day’s collection by the next day morning in districts other than Chennai. In Chennai, a cash management services firm would collect the money on a daily basis.
In both systems, the denominations will have to be filled up while remitting the cash. A scrutiny of the denomination furnished with the administration helped the administration to crack the whip.
The respective District Managers through TASMAC supervisors issued instructions on November 9 to all the salesmen not to accept the scrapped notes.
A. Narayanan, a top executive, of a private firm, said that he was stranded in Poonamallee with only scrapped notes, which he could exchange at a liquor bar attached to a TASMAC shop no Poonamallee - Porur Road.
“The premium runs to 15 percent, which works out to '75 and '150 for the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currencies. Though I’m not a compulsive alcoholic, I am forced to sit in a binge session every day so that I can exchange cash,” he noted. His work does not permit him to visit any bank during the day while ATMs run out of cash in the night.
Similar complaints were received from the bars attached to TASMAC shop attached bars in Coimbatore and Madurai. In Madurai, the tipplers were forced to purchase liquor or snack without being offered change.
In the meantime, TASMAC Uzhiyar Manila Sammelanam (TUMS), had made representation to the management seeking the provision of change, and currency testing machine to flag the fake currencies.
“Nearly a decade ago, we were handed out currency testing machines, which were also rendered useless long ago. Installation of currency tester would shield the salesmen from paying out of his pocket as and when tipplers pushed fake currencies.
“It is imminent, as tipplers had successfully pushed colour photocopies of the newly released Rs 2,000 notes in Tiruvannamalai,” said Thiru Selvan, an office bearer of TUMS.