The clamour for cash got worse on Wednesday as Thursday had been declared a bank holiday for Kanaka Jayanti. But the state government announced in the evening it had cancelled the holiday, and banks would work to 'help the public'.
Cash woes continued in the city, but people living on the outskirts had it worse: they had to walk long distances to get to a currency-dispensing place.
With only one of four ATM kiosks open at the Sangolli Rayanna City Railway Station in Bengaluru, it took people at least an hour to withdraw money on Wednesday.
J Shashi and his family, headed for Kerala, were relieved when the ATM opened. "We had no cash in hand. We got Rs 2,000," Shashi said.
Abdul Khadar, a mechanic, was among hundreds who rushed to exchange old currency at the General Post Office. "I went there during the lunch break. But the queues are long," he said. B G Thimmoji Rao, deputy chief postmaster, said the General Post Office had an average of 1,000 people a day exchanging scrapped notes. "Our employees are working till 11.30 pm as we have to process the receipts and tally the accounts," he said.
On city outskirts
Demonetisation has been harder on people living on the outskirts of the city. On Wednesday, Lakshmana (75) walked about 5 km to a nationalised bank in Kandayakanahalli, a village straddling Nelamangala and Magadi. He stood in a queue from 5 am in the hope of exchanging Rs 4,000.
To his dismay, the counter closed before his turn came. The senior citizen had difficulty safeguarding his identity documents and money in a long, often unruly queue.
Many like him are affected. A stretch of 12 villages, from Magadi Road to Tumkur Road, is served by just three nationalised banks.
Weary employees
The staff are overwhelmed by crowds trying to withdraw, deposit and exchange money. Banks are asking customers to deposit and exchange money on different days, forcing even elders to make multiple visits.
"This is my third visit and I have come to collect the money I deposited on Monday. Even before Icould reach the bank on Tuesday, they had closed transactions because they had run out of cash," said Pushpavathi Rajappa, 41, a resident of Madanayakanahalli on Tumkur Road.
She went back and stood in a queue again, and got to withdraw Rs 2,000 after three hours.
Industrial workers' plight
In some areas, people have to travel 10 km to reach a bank, ATM or post office. The stretch between Anekal and Jigani, dotted with industries and new housing colonies, has little to offer by way of banking. Workers lose their earnings if they stand in queues and report late for work.
This is a plight workers share with labourers. "I took half a day off to exchange money, but the post office staff at Subramanapura told me they can only give me Rs 2,000 notes. That's of no use as I won't get change," said Pandu M, a daily-wage worker in Uttarahalli.
DHNS![]( "People queue in front of a bank on Tumakuru Road on Wednesday. DH Photo/S K Dinesh")
The clamour for cash got worse on Wednesday as Thursday had been declared a bank holiday for Kanaka Jayanti. But the state government announced in the evening it had cancelled the holiday, and banks would work to 'help the public’.
Cash woes continued in the city, but people living on the outskirts had it worse: they had to walk long distances to get to a currency-dispensing place.
With only one of four ATM kiosks open at the Sangolli Rayanna City Railway Station in Bengaluru, it took people at least an hour to withdraw money on Wednesday.
J Shashi and his family, headed for Kerala, were relieved when the ATM opened. "We had no cash in hand. We got Rs 2,000,” Shashi said.
Abdul Khadar, a mechanic, was among hundreds who rushed to exchange old currency at the General Post Office. "I went there during the lunch break. But the queues are long,” he said. B G Thimmoji Rao, deputy chief postmaster, said the General Post Office had an average of 1,000 people a day exchanging scrapped notes. "Our employees are working till 11.30 pm as we have to process the receipts and tally the accounts,” he said.
On city outskirts
Demonetisation has been harder on people living on the outskirts of the city. On Wednesday, Lakshmana (75) walked about 5 km to a nationalised bank in Kandayakanahalli, a village straddling Nelamangala and Magadi. He stood in a queue from 5 am in the hope of exchanging Rs 4,000.
To his dismay, the counter closed before his turn came. The senior citizen had difficulty safeguarding his identity documents and money in a long, often unruly queue.
Many like him are affected. A stretch of 12 villages, from Magadi Road to Tumkur Road, is served by just three nationalised banks.
Weary employees
The staff are overwhelmed by crowds trying to withdraw, deposit and exchange money. Banks are asking customers to deposit and exchange money on different days, forcing even elders to make multiple visits.
"This is my third visit and I have come to collect the money I deposited on Monday. Even before I could reach the bank on Tuesday, they had closed transactions because they had run out of cash,” said Pushpavathi Rajappa, 41, a resident of Madanayakanahalli on Tumkur Road.
She went back and stood in a queue again, and got to withdraw Rs 2,000 after three hours.
Industrial workers’ plight
In some areas, people have to travel 10 km to reach a bank, ATM or post office. The stretch between Anekal and Jigani, dotted with industries and new housing colonies, has little to offer by way of banking. Workers lose their earnings if they stand in queues and report late for work.
This is a plight workers share with labourers. "I took half a day off to exchange money, but the post office staff at Subramanapura told me they can only give me Rs 2,000 notes. That’s of no use as I won’t get change,” said Pandu M, a daily-wage worker in Uttarahalli.
DHNS
Cash woes continued in the city, but people living on the outskirts had it worse: they had to walk long distances to get to a currency-dispensing place.
With only one of four ATM kiosks open at the Sangolli Rayanna City Railway Station in Bengaluru, it took people at least an hour to withdraw money on Wednesday.
J Shashi and his family, headed for Kerala, were relieved when the ATM opened. "We had no cash in hand. We got Rs 2,000," Shashi said.
Abdul Khadar, a mechanic, was among hundreds who rushed to exchange old currency at the General Post Office. "I went there during the lunch break. But the queues are long," he said. B G Thimmoji Rao, deputy chief postmaster, said the General Post Office had an average of 1,000 people a day exchanging scrapped notes. "Our employees are working till 11.30 pm as we have to process the receipts and tally the accounts," he said.
On city outskirts
Demonetisation has been harder on people living on the outskirts of the city. On Wednesday, Lakshmana (75) walked about 5 km to a nationalised bank in Kandayakanahalli, a village straddling Nelamangala and Magadi. He stood in a queue from 5 am in the hope of exchanging Rs 4,000.
To his dismay, the counter closed before his turn came. The senior citizen had difficulty safeguarding his identity documents and money in a long, often unruly queue.
Many like him are affected. A stretch of 12 villages, from Magadi Road to Tumkur Road, is served by just three nationalised banks.
Weary employees
The staff are overwhelmed by crowds trying to withdraw, deposit and exchange money. Banks are asking customers to deposit and exchange money on different days, forcing even elders to make multiple visits.
"This is my third visit and I have come to collect the money I deposited on Monday. Even before Icould reach the bank on Tuesday, they had closed transactions because they had run out of cash," said Pushpavathi Rajappa, 41, a resident of Madanayakanahalli on Tumkur Road.
She went back and stood in a queue again, and got to withdraw Rs 2,000 after three hours.
Industrial workers' plight
In some areas, people have to travel 10 km to reach a bank, ATM or post office. The stretch between Anekal and Jigani, dotted with industries and new housing colonies, has little to offer by way of banking. Workers lose their earnings if they stand in queues and report late for work.
This is a plight workers share with labourers. "I took half a day off to exchange money, but the post office staff at Subramanapura told me they can only give me Rs 2,000 notes. That's of no use as I won't get change," said Pandu M, a daily-wage worker in Uttarahalli.
DHNS
The clamour for cash got worse on Wednesday as Thursday had been declared a bank holiday for Kanaka Jayanti. But the state government announced in the evening it had cancelled the holiday, and banks would work to 'help the public’.Cash woes continued in the city, but people living on the outskirts had it worse: they had to walk long distances to get to a currency-dispensing place.
With only one of four ATM kiosks open at the Sangolli Rayanna City Railway Station in Bengaluru, it took people at least an hour to withdraw money on Wednesday.
J Shashi and his family, headed for Kerala, were relieved when the ATM opened. "We had no cash in hand. We got Rs 2,000,” Shashi said.
Abdul Khadar, a mechanic, was among hundreds who rushed to exchange old currency at the General Post Office. "I went there during the lunch break. But the queues are long,” he said. B G Thimmoji Rao, deputy chief postmaster, said the General Post Office had an average of 1,000 people a day exchanging scrapped notes. "Our employees are working till 11.30 pm as we have to process the receipts and tally the accounts,” he said.
On city outskirts
Demonetisation has been harder on people living on the outskirts of the city. On Wednesday, Lakshmana (75) walked about 5 km to a nationalised bank in Kandayakanahalli, a village straddling Nelamangala and Magadi. He stood in a queue from 5 am in the hope of exchanging Rs 4,000.
To his dismay, the counter closed before his turn came. The senior citizen had difficulty safeguarding his identity documents and money in a long, often unruly queue.
Many like him are affected. A stretch of 12 villages, from Magadi Road to Tumkur Road, is served by just three nationalised banks.
Weary employees
The staff are overwhelmed by crowds trying to withdraw, deposit and exchange money. Banks are asking customers to deposit and exchange money on different days, forcing even elders to make multiple visits.
"This is my third visit and I have come to collect the money I deposited on Monday. Even before I could reach the bank on Tuesday, they had closed transactions because they had run out of cash,” said Pushpavathi Rajappa, 41, a resident of Madanayakanahalli on Tumkur Road.
She went back and stood in a queue again, and got to withdraw Rs 2,000 after three hours.
Industrial workers’ plight
In some areas, people have to travel 10 km to reach a bank, ATM or post office. The stretch between Anekal and Jigani, dotted with industries and new housing colonies, has little to offer by way of banking. Workers lose their earnings if they stand in queues and report late for work.
This is a plight workers share with labourers. "I took half a day off to exchange money, but the post office staff at Subramanapura told me they can only give me Rs 2,000 notes. That’s of no use as I won’t get change,” said Pandu M, a daily-wage worker in Uttarahalli.
DHNS