Short change crunch hits people hard,banks wilt under pressure

People in Delhi had a harrowing time for the second consecutive day today as they stood in long queues to exchange their Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes with new ones, with some even seen running out of patience due to non-functional ATMs and jampacked banks.
The entire process of exchanging notes, that the Centre had promised would be smooth, turned extremely chaotic and confusing as facilities like banks and post offices wilted under pressure.
Many ATMs ran out of cash within hours of opening due to heavy rush to withdraw lower denomination currency. The machines were equipped to tender Rs 100 notes, while most simply did not work.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi joined one such queue at the Parliament Street branch of SBI in the afternoon in "solidarity" with common men, but it left many fuming as they claimed they were not being allowed inside by his security posse.
Demonetisation of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes also hit trade in the walled city and small traders. Hawkers and vendors complained of their daily earnings getting halved while many struggled to exchange notes in the absence of identity cards.
Delhiites found it difficult in paying for their household items, essential commodities and vegetables as they ran out of their savings of small currencies.

To manage anxious crowd, as many as 3,400 personnel of paramilitary and Delhi Police, along with 200 quick reaction teams, were deployed at ATMs and banks across the city.

Many of the ATMs were not operative despite an announcement made by the Centre on November 8 that they will be operational from Friday following two-day closure.
However, people returned empty handed as they were told by security guards that the ATMs have not been stocked up with cash till now.
"I had been saving money but it wasn't of any use as all of them were in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations. My only hope after surviving two days without cash was that the ATMs will be operational from today, but owing to many of the ATMs being closed, I had to borrow money from my neighbours," said Sunita Dass, a homemaker.