TURA: After 21 days of eager wait, residents of Garo Hills finally got something ‘noteworthy’ on Wednesday. As the automated teller machines in Tura and Williamnagar gurgled out the new Rs 500 notes, the hassled citizens breathed easy after days of standing in long queues.
The new Rs 500 currency notes were released to banks and ATMs from Wednesday morning much to the jubilation of customers who for long had been receiving only the single Rs 2,000 notes.
“I am extremely happy now that I have in my hands the Rs 500 notes. It was becoming very difficult to get change earlier because the only note in circulation was the Rs 2,000 currency,” said a relieved customer who received the new denomination from the SBI ATM near Tura Civil Hospital.
In the light of non-availability of smaller denominations, many customers were being compelled to purchase goods beyond their requirement from shops in Tura and Williamnagar as traders claimed to have no change.
As news began to spread about the availability of the new Rs 500 notes, queues soon began to grow in front of ATMs in Tura and Williamnagar by Wednesday afternoon. Now, they can withdraw the Rs 2,500 limited amount permitted by the government recently.
However, some had to return with a Rs 2,000 note and a single Rs 500 currency from some ATMs. Some of the customers were quick to learn from others’ mistakes and chose to withdraw money twice, once Rs 1,500 and the next time Rs 1,000. The intelligent ones came out of ATMs flaunting five Rs 500 notes victoriously.
According to SBI officials, sufficient amount of Rs 500 notes were released for Garo Hills by the RBI in Guwahati this week.
“We are now in a comfortable position and able to feed our ATMs with sufficient number of the new Rs 500 currency notes. At present, we are concentrating on Tura and Williamnagar where the new notes have been distributed, but gradually it will extend to other towns,” said a senior SBI official to The Shillong Times.
