CHENNAI: Despite the strong rains and winds, it was business as usual for some. The T Nagar branch of Bank of Baroda conducted a Cut and Soiled Notes Exchange Mela as per schedule on Thursday.
The `Mela’, organised along with the Reserve Bank of India, was held following requests from customers, according S Devaseelan, deputy regional manager of the bank.
After a customer files a formal application, bank officials decide the value of the notes depending on the damage.
“There are instances where a customer could get as low as 25 per cent of the value mentioned on the note,” informed bank officials.
Nazarulla, owner of Salaam Stores in the area, turned up with damaged notes worth Rs 3,000 of different denominations, but could get only Rs 2,700 in exchange. “They were with me for the last three years. I could not get time to go to the RBI to exchange them,” he said adding that the “mela helped him offload the notes”.
A presentation on how to identify fake currency was also held at the mela. Vaijayanthi Gopal, assistant treasurer, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), asked people to check out the font of the prints, crispness of the notes, the security strip, and the watermark of the smiling Gandhiji, which are important features that can help identify fake notes.
According to S R Taran, chief manager of the bank, the bank exchanged 28,273 notes pieces valued at Rs 3,94,202. The coins exchanged were valued at Rs 48,700.