Kolkata markets still bear the brunt of demonetisation

Kolkata: City markets continued to bear the brunt of Centre’s demonetisation drive as most of them wore a deserted look on Sunday. Vendors and small traders at major city markets complained that their business was hit even on weekends as they ran out of change.

“A small number of customers are coming to the markets. Most of them are producing Rs 2,000 notes and we cannot give changes to all of them. Besides, our regular customers have stayed away from the markets due to the cash-strapped situation,” said a fish seller at Maniktala market.

Several other vendors slashed the prices of vegetables and fruits to get more customers.

“Despite selling the vegetables at low price, we are yet to witness a decent business. Usually the markets remain comes to life on Sundays. However, we have never seen a Sunday like this before. If the situation persists then it will be very difficult for us to survive,” said a fruit seller at Lake Market.

Those, who were seen buying fruits and vegetables, said that they were forced to slash their budget. “Now we are keeping a close tab on our finances. We cannot afford to spend so much money on fruits and vegetables. We are forced to maintain a limited budget now and save money,” said a customer at Gariahat market.

Meanwhile, some ATMs in the city began dispensing new Rs 500 currency notes in the evening. According to the officials of SBI, ATMs which were recalibrated started dispensing new notes. People who received new Rs 500 notes finally breathed a sigh of relief as finding changes to Rs 2,000 currency notes was a daunting task for them.