On November 8th Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India in his address to the nation officially announced the ban of high currency denomination effective the following midnight. This move has impacted the entire nation. So much so, small traders including the push cart vendors and businessmen who are doing business to a tune of several crores are impacted by this ban of 500 and 1,000 currency.
Across the nation this announcement has received a mixed reaction. A few people are praising the PM for this move while an equal number of people have openly criticised Narendra Modi. Following the demonetised currency notes, the public is forced to exchange their old currency notes for new at the various financial institutions.
On the other hand the Central government is making a new announcement such as only one withdrawal is allowed per day and also many other conditions for withdrawing money. The manner in which the announcement was made has enraged the people. It has been very difficult to get the new 2,000 rupees notes from the banks and financial institutions. The new 500 rupees currency too has not been distributed adequately to the banks which has led to a void in lower denomination currency.
Back home in Coimbatore, business is impacted.
Sale of flowers is impacted
When speaking to Simplicity Vasanthi, a flower vendor from Poomarket area in R.S.Puram in the city said, “We have been selling flowers in this market since three generations. Sale of flowers is at its peak during festivals and during the Muhurtha days. Last year around the same time, we were able to earn anywhere between Rs.500 to Rs.1,000 per day. Due to the demonetisation of the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes our sales have been impacted. We are forced to throw away the flowers we have purchased to sell.”
Goods auto rickshaw driver impacted
“We are unable to pay the dues” Goods auto rickshaw driver, Umar from Podanur said that, “I am working as a goods auto driver in Podanur for 5 years now. I am running my family from the income I earn by working for the construction industry and other sectors. We have been impacted by the central government’s announcement of demonetising Rs.500 and Rs. 1,000 denominations.”
Book traders impacted
Sahabuddin a book shop owner from Town Hall in the city said, “Sales of books is not as it was. I am in this business for 7 years. There are 23 books stores in this area. We will have brisk business before the schools and colleges reopen after holidays. On the other day our business is limited. Sales are good during the beginning of each semester for colleges.”
“Following the Governments ban of 500 and 1,000 currency notes customers are using the new Rs.2,000 rupee notes to purchase books. However, we are unable to do business as a majority of times we do not have the exact change to give back the customers. This has automatically resulted in a drop in our sales. Moreover, we do not have the facility to accept cards. This forces customers to use the ATMs which in turn are out of cash a majority of times.”
In the back drop of all this, a few experts have offered suggestions to people who wish to draw cash from the ATMs. Here is one of them.
How to check if ATM has money?
As people are spending lot of time in front of ATM a new facility has been introduced to find if the respective ATM has money. One can find out whether the nearest ATMs are having cash by visiting the website www.cashnocash.com. One can also inform others about the non availability of cash in a particular ATM.