The decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes brought life to a
standstill in the city. Banks and ATMs remained shut, while business establishments, from petrol bunks to vegetable shops and groceries, wore a deserted look. The most affected were labourers who depend on their daily wages.
There were no vegetable sellers or buyers in the vegetable markets across the city up to Devanahalli. There were empty hotels, grocery shops, milk booths and even deserted wine stores.
This is how normal life was hit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to discontinue the existing '500 and '1000 currency notes on Wednesday. The situation is likely to continue for at least a week, until the new currency notes are flushed into the system through the banks and post offices.
The day started with most of the services going off. With all the service providers refusing to accept Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations, the city residents were put through a lot of inconvenience. With the banks and ATMs being shut, the problem got worse.
It was the working class, vehicle drivers and farmers who were the worst hit. According to the vehicle drivers, in all the toll booths of the city, huge traffic jams were reported the whole day as cashiers were declining Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. “I spent around 3 hours in six toll booths,” said Ramesh Shetty, a driver of a private bus from Mangaluru.
No vegetables, no milk
Vegetable and milk suppliers were also hit badly. According to sources in the state agriculture department, all the major vegetable markets in the city, were shut down due the ‘note’ problem. “People didn’t visit the market as they didn’t have hard cash,” said a senior officer.
No ATM service
With all the banks closing down their branches and ATMs, people found it extremely difficult to draw cash. “All the major shops in the city were closed, especially in major commercial areas such as Malleswaram, Commercial Street and Jayanagar 4th block, as shopkeepers could not transact business. As customers plan to wait till Thursday for the reopening of the banks, all the major shops were shut,” said Rajendra K Jain, a merchant.
Wedding plans go awry
Those who had arranged marriages, birthday celebrations and other auspicious events were the biggest casualties of the demonetization announcement.
Many parents who had fixed their children's marriages on Wednesday and Thursday said that they could not procure anything for the event.
"Marriage functions should have been exempted. Choultry owners are refusing cheques or Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. For every service we need to shell out money. No one is accepting these notes. As banks and ATMs are closed we are helpless," said Beena, whose daughter's marriage has been arranged in a Choultry in Rajajinagar on Thursday.
Those with black money to flock Maths
Since the Maths and religious institutions do not come under the Endowment Act, influential people with black money are likely to flock these institutions to get it converted to white money.
A retired IAS officer said that politicians and people who have links with maths can dump their money there and get it converted or sanitized their black money without any hassles.
Even the government cannot question as the maths can even reveal the quantum of donation, but not the source of donation, he said and added that in some temples, which has committees and trusts with public members or elected office bearers, it would be difficult.
However, these maths and temples have to work out a formula in giving back the cash to those getting their black money sanitized. The demonitisation of
Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 will affect three section of the society most - politicians, officials and real estate sector.
If at all Prime Minister Narendra Modi was serious about putting an end to the black money he should not have given much time to deposit money into the bank and closed down maths and temples for at least a week. Besides, a joint examination of safety lockers should have been ordered, he said. If any cash in found in the locker it should be forfeited as belonging to the government, he added.
