KOTTAYAM: Sudha, a private firm employee in the district, was among the many victims of the Centre’s move to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes from Tuesday midnight. For, unfortunately for Sudha, she was carrying just a Rs 50 note and three Rs 500 notes with her on Wednesday, the first day after the ban’s enforcement.
The 33-year-old Kanjikuzhy resident was undergoing heat therapy for the past few days for severe back pain at a physiotherapy centre at Nagambadam. After the session got over, Sudha took out the Rs 500 bills to settle the day’s bill. But, the cashier flatly refused to accept the notes, saying she could pay it when she came back for the next sitting.
When she said hospitals were supposed to accept the notes, she was told that it applied for hospitals only, not small physiotherapy centres. Though they let her go without paying the bill, her troubles were far from over, as she had no small currency denominations to pay for the auto-rickshaw that she was planning to hire to reach her office at Star Junction, a ride which would cost minimum Rs 100. When she asked an auto driver if he would drop her at her destination in lieu of the Rs 500 note, he said he had not change to give back. He, however, took her to a petrol pump near District Collectorate and asked for change, only to hear a big ‘No’ from the pump staff.
Finally, she was forced to go back home, which would cost her around Rs 50, the only ‘legitimate’ money she carried. At home, she was forced to drive to her office, despite the doctor’s advice that she not do it for a certain period of time.