The demonetisation of currency notes of Rs 1,000 and 500 has translated into a better business for the roadside vendors of this summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir as they accept these notes, hoping to bank in the invalid tenders before the expiry of the December 30 deadline set by the government.
"I am still accepting Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as there is shortage of Rs 100 notes in the market," Farooq Ahmad, a roadside vegetable vendor in posh Jawahar Nagar locality of the city, told PTI.
Ahmad said his average daily sale of Rs 3,000, over the next 50 days, will still be less than Rs 2.5 lakh ceiling set by the government for invoking the tax laws.
Abdul Qayoom, a fruit vendor in the same locality, is also accepting the demonetised notes on same grounds and he is happy as his sales have swelled substantially over the past three days since Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the surprise currency announcement.
"People are buying more quantity than usual to avoid hassles of finding change which has translated into more sales for us," Qayoom said.
While small traders are accepting the invalid notes, some government and commercial outlets directed by the Union government to accept these currency notes are declining to do so.
"I went to pay telephone bills at the cash counter of BSNL this afternoon and had taken exact change in addition to 1,000 currency notes to avoid any problems. However, the official of the BSNL refused to accept the notes," Mushtaq Mohammad, a private sector employee, said.
Even fuel stations, which have been directed to accept the demonetised notes till midnight of November 11, are declining saying they do not have enough 100 rupee notes to give out in change.
"How do we deal with a customer who wants to fill fuel for Rs 200 and hands out Rs 1,000 note? Where do we get change? The banks are not issuing Rs 100 notes to us," a manager of the a fuel station here said.
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