On Saturday it was widely reported how anger and impatience rose across the country as banks struggled to cope with the rush of people wanting to exchange junked notes.
More than half the ATMs remained out of service for the fourth day in a row and the operational ones ran out of cash within hours.
There were reports of skirmishes between people who had queued up to exchange or deposit their old and now defunct 500 and 1000 rupee notes and bank officials over the long wait and banks falling short of cash.
Several banks ran out of cash while customers complained of rude behaviour in government banks.
With cashing running out, the desperation was visible among ordinary public. Hapless customers thronged ATMs even in the night in several parts of Delhi standing in long queues all through Saturday night into early hours of Sunday.
One such ATM was in Shaheen Bagh area of south Delhi, where desperate public let go their comfort in the hope to get the much-needed cash.
While some were lucky, there were several others who had to return home cash-less once again.
Asad Ali wasn’t so fortunate.
Speaking to Janta Ka Reporter, he said, “I tried my luck in banks, went to several ATMs in the area, but haven’t been lucky. My family desperately needs cash. I will try other ATMs and go to banks again in the morning. Pray to God that I get hold of some cash.”
The anger against the central government here was palpable as many termed the move foolish, taken only to serve the interests of ‘friendly corporates’ and ‘BJP family.’
65-year-old Sanjeev Singh said, “The notion that Modi has taken this decision to weed out black money is a facade. You just can’t understand what pain we are having to go through because of this silly decision. You may not have been born, but we had seen similar move under Morarji (Desai) government in 70s. And we all saw what happened.
“And if Modi was so serious about black money, how come his friends knew even before he made this announcement?”
Meanwhile, Delhi Police on Saturday received nearly 4,500 calls till 6 PM today as cash-strapped people standing in long queues outside banks and ATMs resorted to violence in some parts of the city.
“We received over 4,000 calls today. There were sporadic incidents of violence reported from the city but there were no reports of any grievous injury,” said Sanjay Beniwal, Special Commissioner of Police (Operations).
(With PTI inputs)
