Hyderabad: Banks' failures lead to massive queues

Hyderabad: Due to non-implementation of central government’s directions by almost all banks in both Telugu states of TS and AP, people have to spend for hours outside the banks for hours together.

The Central government had directed banks to maintain three separate queues for senior citizens and differently-abled persons, depositors and for exchange of demonetised notes.

But almost all banks in both states are maintaining single queue for all kinds of customers. There is no separate queue for women at most of the banks. A private company employee residing of Vengalarao Nagar in Hyderabad said he has been visiting bank every day for the past three days to deposit money, but the security was not allowing going inside the bank and asked him to stand in the long queue. Fearing pickpockets, he decided to put off his plan instead of standing in the queue.

On Monday, the Union Finance Ministry had said senior citizens and differently-abled persons would get a separate queue at bank branches. But the bank officials said they had no enough staff to maintain separate queues for different kinds of customers.

A representative of state-level bankers’ committee said the banks should maintain separate queues for different customers, but there was no enough staff for that. He said they would examine the issue.

‘Bleeding’ notes cause confusion

Are the new notes supposed to lose their colour? The question has confused many. Now, a clarification from Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday about the Rs 2,000 notes losing colour has added to the confusion.  Mr Dass said if the Rs 2,000 note does not lose colour, it could be a fake! The statement has added to the confusion as there are videos on the Web showing certain notes losing colour when rubbed. Other notes did not lose colour when they were put in water.

Deccan Chronicle experimented on a new Rs 2000 note by rubbing it with a wet cloth and then dipping the note issued by a bank in a glass of water. There was no loss of colour. The note was then used in a transaction.

“The new currency notes, just as the old ones Rs 1,000, Rs 500 and Rs 100 will lose colour when rubbed with a piece of wet cloth because that’s the nature of the Intaglio ink used. If your note does not lose colour, it indicates it could be a fake,” Mr Das said.