BHUBANESWAR: Before the wedding bell, it is the Centre’s move to demonetise higher denomination currency notes pressed the alarm bell ringing for Dhirendra Padhi of Kaptipada area in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district.
His elder son Chinmay’s marriage is on December 6 and he fears the currency crunch is likely to affect the preparation. Though he had saved Rs 4 lakh of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations for the marriage, he had to deposit those notes in his two accounts post demonetisation.
“Thank God, I had around Rs 40,000 of Rs 100 notes which came to my rescue to pay advances for catering, tent, light and music besides small expenses. Or else I would have postponed the marriage due to the crisis. It is difficult to withdraw the required money due to the cap on the weekly withdrawal amount,” he said.
Padhi, who is into small transport business, however feigned his ignorance that the Government on Thursday allowed the families celebrating weddings to draw up to Rs 2.5 lakh in cash from their own bank accounts. “I do not know this. I will ask the bank on Friday. If it is true, it will be a great help,” he said.
Even as most of the people except ultra-rich have hailed the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, it has taken a toll on the weddings. The typical wedding season here starts in November and continues till April with one month of vacation between December 14 to January 14.
While many families have slashed their budget, some others have deferred their plan for next two months. Since minimum Rs four lakh to Rs five lakh is required for a wedding in a middleclass family, they
are facing up-heal tasks to arrange that much of amount in a short span of time. Adding to their woes, the Centre has also reduced the exchange limit from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,000 from Friday.
A retired Sanskrit professor Padma Lochan Patra, whose daughter’s marriage is scheduled on November 23, said he is borrowing some amount from his friends and relatives to manage the catering cost. “Whatever I will pay to the groom party, it will be through cheque only. I also made some purchases through debit card,” Patra, a resident of Jaydevkasaba village in Balasore district, said.
But the post demonetisation announcements regarding cap on withdrawal and relaxation for wedding celebrations have left AK Badapanda (name changed), a resident of Bhubaneswar, totally confused.
He had kept Rs five lakh for his son’s marriage on Monday. After the announcement of demonetisation of higher currency notes he deposited the money in five accounts.
“I thought we could draw the entire amount in one month. Now the government has allowed to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakh from one account. But sadly I do not have that much of money in any of my accounts. Had the announcement made earlier, I would have deposited Rs five lakh of older currency notes in two accounts. The relaxation will be of no use for me,” he rued.