CUTTACK: With card swiping facility unavailable in rural markets, people in remote areas of the district had to face a torrid time on Wednesday after the Centre announced to demonetise `500 and `1,000 notes on Tuesday night.
The worst affected were daily wagers and people of low-income group who were forced to go for credit buying to sustain themselves.
''I have only a single `1,000 note which both me and my wife earned during the last two days. When I went to the local daily market on Wednesday morning to purchase grocery and vegetables, the vendors refused to accept the note. However, they agreed to give items on credit,'' said 45-year-old Murali Biswal, a daily wager of Betenda village in Niali block.
While more than 60 per cent of a normal day's business was recorded at prominent business centres in the Millennium City like Malgodown, Chhatra Bazar and Choudhury Bazar with help of debit/credit cards, very low transaction of goods was reported at different daily markets in rural areas.
A majority of people including construction workers, labourers and workers engaged in different industrial units and factories had to face difficulties in having meals at hotels due to unavailability of smaller denomination notes.
''I had lunch in a hotel near Bandalo. But as the hotel owner refused to accept a `500 note, I mortgaged my wrist watch as I had no other options,'' says Parikhit Swain, an employee of a dry food manufacturing unit at Tangi.