Count on your luck in Mohali

Kulwinder Sangha

Mohali, December 8

Even a month after the demonetisation of high value currency, banks still faced a shortage of cash today, leading to resentment among people. In many cases, there were heated arguments between bank officials and customers. Business has also been badly hit.

ATMs are functioning according to the availability of cash. Long queues can be seen outside ATMs booths. Persons standing in queues are not sure whether they will be lucky enough to get cash by the time their turn comes. Moreover, Rs 2,000 can be withdrawn at one time through many ATMs and that, too, a Rs 2,000 note.

Businessmen, small shopkeepers and vendors have been hit due to a shortage of cash with buyers. A shopkeeper said on condition of anonymity that the demonetisation decision of the Modi government was authoritarian in nature. “The normal life has been adversely affected as the flow of cash has been restricted. While people were suffering, those in authority at the Centre are not facing any problem as cash is freely available to senior BJP leaders,” he said.

Ravinder Bansal, a resident of Phase III B 2, said when he went to the State Bank of Patiala branch in Phase VII today to withdraw Rs 15,000, he was asked to take only Rs 5,000. After heated arguments, he was offered Rs 10,000. He had to take leave from work to go to the bank as his mother, Bachni Devi ( 72), had to withdraw her pension. She had asked for Rs 12,000 but was given only Rs 10,000. He said bank officials were behaving in a manner as if they were doing him a favour.

It is learnt that strong objections were raised by customers at a branch of HDFC Bank because adequate cash had not been received at the branch. Bank officials said only Rs 3 lakh was received by the branch in the first half of the day and the money had to be rationed so that more customers could be accommodated.

Offerings at Mansa Devi temple affected

In the past one month, donations received at the Mansa Devi temple in scrapped currency stand at Rs 18 lakh out of the total 79.71 lakh. There is a significant drop in the total donated amount as compared to the month before the scrapping of currency. A total of Rs 1.25 crore was donated to the temple a month before the note ban. In the last two days, Rs 36,500 has been donated in scrapped currency. In the first three days after the note ban, Rs 2.29 lakh was donated in old notes. Meanwhile, the footfall has come down significantly but the temple refuses to disclose the numbers. VG Goel, chief executive officer, Mansa Devi Shrine Board, said, “The old currency notes are not a problem as the donations are deposited in the bank on a daily basis. We are neither encouraging people nor discouraging them from donating old currency.” As far as new notes of Rs 2,000 and the new Rs 500 are concerned, only 130 and 41 notes, respectively, amounting to just Rs 2.81 lakh, have been donated to the temple whereas the number of scrapped notes stood at 2,819. On a daily basis, Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 3 lakh has been donated to the shrine. 

HDFC partners Chandigarh Admn to promote digital banking

HDFC Bank Ltd., in collaboration with the Chandigarh Administration, will promote digital banking. The bank will work with various departments and educational institutes in Chandigarh to create awareness and educate various stakeholders such as employees, students, teachers, and traders on benefits of going cashless to promote the use of digital banking channels for financial transactions. This is an endeavour to make Chandigarh a cashless city. The initiative is christened “C for Chandigarh…C for Cashless”. As part of this initiative, HDFC Bank will reach out to more than 100 educational institutes and demonstrate through a presentation various transactions that can be easily, quickly and safely conducted through net banking, mobile banking, USSD, PoS, and apps such as UPI, PayZapp and Chillr.

Realty sector hit hard

The note ban has adversely hit the real estate market hard as the registration of properties dipped by almost 30 per cent in the past one month.  As per the data collected from the sub-registrar’s office, 135  properties were registered a month  prior  to the announcement of the note ban, which came down to 91  in the past month. JD Gupta, a property consultant, said cash crunch led to a slump in the market.   Now, people have adopted the wait and watch policy. Most of the sales registered after November 8 related to deals wherein sales agreements had already been made. 

More vehicles registered in past one month

Demonetisation seems to have no effect on the registration of new vehicles in the city. As per data, the registration of cars  has gone up after the  scrapping of high value currency.   According to the Registration and the Licensing   Authority,  3,412 vehicles were registered a month before the note ban announcement, while 4,849   vehicles have been registered in the past one month. The increase in figures has surprised many. Sources  said the increase  indicated that people might have invested  the banned currency  to buy cars.