The first day of exchanging Rs 2,000 currency notes passed off largely peacefully as it was business as usual in most banks and there were no large crowds as seen in the aftermath of the 2016 demonetisation.
Note exchange was a low-key affair in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Telangana, where people chose not to rush to banks to replace Rs 2,000 notes with lower denomination notes. In Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Vijayawada, residents tried to dispose of the pink notes at petrol pumps, supermarkets and other business establishments.
While no major untoward incident was reported from any state, Delhi, Chennai and Bhubaneswar reported isolated incidents of confusion and chaos in some bank branches.
At some banks in Delhi, heated arguments took place between customers and bank staff who allegedly refused to accept notes without identity proof despite the government’s clarification that no document is required to exchange notes.
Some Chennai banks also demanded Aadhaar card while others wanted to know the mobile numbers of those who came with Rs 2,000 notes. The city also recorded high activity with some bank branches collecting Rs 2,000 notes worth over Rs 60 lakh on Tuesday.
A few Bhubaneswar banks, too, insisted on identity documents such as Aadhaar card along with the requisition slip to deposit and exchange notes. There were widespread complaints of petrol pumps
refusing to accept high-value notes.
It was business as usual for jewellers
Meanwhile, no rush was witnessed in jewelleries as well with most jewellers reporting business as usual. However, some jewellers in Telangana and Karnataka said some people are making payments in Rs 2,000 notes. Across Karnataka, the note exchange rush was seen more at petrol pumps, jewellery stores, malls and stores than at the banks.
Kerala witnessed a slow start to exchange of Rs 2,000 notes with very few people turning up at banks to exchange the pink notes. “There is ample time till September 30 to exchange the notes. Also, many customers are making full use of digital banking and UPI payments and hence they do not have big currencies in their possession. In case of bulk payments such as Rs 5-10 lakh or more, customers are depositing it in their accounts as normal procedure,” said the manager of a nationalised bank in Kochi.
In Chennai, bank branches in residential areas wore a desolate look with fewer footfalls while those in Purasawalkam, Banks in Delhi, unlike other cities, witnessed brisk activity and crowds. However, there was confusion among customers about the procedure to exchange and deposit notes.
Meanwhile, in a bid to cash in on the situation, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has announced an offer for house owners to pay property tax in Rs 2,000 notes. There was no panic rush to banks in Odisha. No large crowds were witnessed in any bank in the state and the process. Very few people turned up to either deposit or exchange the high value notes at branches in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and several other cities. [With inputs from New Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar and Kochi]