Banks across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh witnessed chaos on Saturday as cash-starved people queued for hours to exchange and withdraw money, even as most of the ATMs remained cashless owing to heavy rush.
However, financial transactions at private banks like HDFC and ICICI remained unaffected.
Industrial hubs in Punjab and Haryana bore the brunt as industry representatives complained their business transactions were badly hit owing to less circulation of new money.
People, including elderly, in large numbers were seen queuing up to exchange the currency notes to meet out their daily expenses.
At some of the places like Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala in punja and Haryana's Karnal, Rohtak and Ambala towns, non-functional ATMs agitated the people about the lack of preparedness for exchanging the currency.
Justifying the decision of the central government, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said after initial hiccups, the scheme, which is the brainchild of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would act as a catalyst to wipe out social maladies like corruption and black money from country.
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--IANS
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