New Delhi: Demonetisation turned one-month-old on Thursday, but the hassles being faced by the public are far from over with the victims being not just the common man but also those representing him in Parliament.
After 30 days, reports of an ubiquitous cash crunch marked by interminable queues and empty ATMs read almost the same. During the period, some of the BJP parliamentarians have also had a taste of it.
Three MPs — two from the Rajya Sabha and one from the Lok Sabha — went to the bank to withdraw Rs 24,000 each — the maximum allowed to be taken out every week from banks currently. Two of them were from the BJP and one from JD-U.
The bank officials, apparently facing a cash crunch, requested the three MPs to take out Rs 5,000 each, which they refused.
“This is the situation in the temple of democracy. Imagine what must be the situation in the remote corners of the country!” one of the three MPs told IANS, requesting anonymity.
Another BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh wondered how he can talk about the supposed benefits of the note ban to people in his constituency when he himself is suffering.
The cash squeeze forced even the infirm to go and stand in lines for hours, which at times ended up in unfortunate incidents.
On Thursday, a woman, apparently in her 20s, fainted on suffering an epileptic seizure after standing in queue for some time.
The woman, who had an Aadhaar card in her hand, suddenly started feeling dizzy, convulsed and collapsed on the road. A group of Good Samaritans stepped out of the queue and rushed to help her.
In the meantime, in Manipur, the struggle for survival for its residents continued since the high denomination notes ban.
Fifty-year-old N. Sanahanbi, a greengrocer here, who is trying to run her kitchen and educate her children at the same time, told IANS that since November 8 she has not been able to sell anything simply because customers have no low denomination notes and she does not have change for the Rs 2,000 note that some of them bring.
It is the same for Satyabati, a young mother, who was unable to withdraw money to pay examination fees of her three children and also have cash for family expenses. (IANS)
