Demonetisation sparks chaos, 3 die, 1 allegedly commits suicide

New Delhi: Millions of panicked people across states struggled in long queues for the second consecutive day on Friday to swap spiked currency notes with smaller or new bills as ATMs and banks wilted under pressure and ran out of cash.  

Reports said three people, two in Kerala and one in Mumbai, died while scrambling to exchange Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, pulled out of circulation three days ago. A panicked woman reportedly killed herself in Telangana.

Many ATMs ran out of cash within hours of opening due to heavy rush to withdraw lower denomination currency.

A withdrawal limit of Rs 2,000 a day, expected to be increased in coming days, also made matters worse.

There was also a massive rush of people depositing out-of-circulation notes in jam-packed banks. The State Bank of India said Rs 53,000 crore has so far been received in deposits.

The Reserve Bank of India assured people that there is enough cash available with banks and all arrangements have been made to reach currency notes all over the country. It however said it may “take a while for the banks to recalibrate their ATMs”.

“Once the ATMs are functional, people can withdraw a maximum of Rs 2,000 per card per day up to November 18, and after that Rs 4,000 per day per card,” an RBI statement said.

The government also extended the validity of withdrawn currency for paying public utility bills till November 14. The facility for exchanging the withdrawn denominations is available for nearly 50 days.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi joined a winding queue in Delhi and attacked the Narendra Modi government for the “hardship people are facing.” BJP president Amit Shah attacked Opposition parties criticising the demonetisation, which he said was a war on black money.

Panicked people also thronged shops as salt shortage rumours spread across parts of Uttar Pradesh and the NCR. The Centre on Friday clarified that there is no shortage. Shopkeepers’ inability to offer change sparked rumours that the price of salt has gone up to `400 per kg in Uttar Pradesh and up to Rs 250 per kg in NCR, the police said. Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav also said there was no shortage of salt.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced earlier this week the abolition of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes from midnight Tuesday, in a move to stamp out corruption and drain illicit cash from the economy.