BHOPAL: The Government of India-sponsored Digi Dhan Mela, meant to educate people in the use of cashless transactions, held here on Thursday, was virtually a farce. This was the first Mela and more such events will be organised in the districts in the coming months.
Various banks, government departments, business houses and mobile operators had put up their stalls in the Mela.
One of the visitors Ishwar informed that “I am not literate, but I have to educate my children in making cashless transactions”. Literacy, apparently, is one of the main hurdles in adopting cashless transactions. He added that in TV spots the process seems to be very simple but in reality it is very complicated.
Another participant from Sehore district, Ramnaresh informed “I haven’t got any information, but I am feeling nice here”.
Some organisations not dealing directly with the public and banks with only a few branches in the state, especially in the rural areas had also put up their stalls in the Mela.
Andhra Bank chief manager Rakesh Ravi informed that they have 48 branches in the state, of which only six are in the rural areas. He claimed that their mobile app Mpay was launched some two years back, but very few people are using it.
Similarly at the stall of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), marketing manager, M. Jha informed that for last ten years, the PSU is conducting cashless transactions using digital means. They are not even issuing cheques or making demand drafts. When asked about the rationale of their presence in the fete, he said, “It is just to convey that we have gone cashless and are facing no problems”.
The state Food and Civil Supplies Department has also put up its. Junior supply officer Pratap Singh informed that the department is planning to start cashless transactions in the state.
When asked how many PDS shops in the district are equipped with card swiping machines, he informed that only shop in the city – at Ashoka Garden – has the facility.
Rajeev Gupta, state marketing manager of Hindalco Industries, which produces fertilisers, was distributing plastic bags to the visitors to his stall. He said, “We are promoting our product and we have distributed calendars, dairies, plastic bags and other small gifts to the participants conning to the stall”.
People from the rural areas were seen collecting the pamphlets and free gifts and the city people including youths were seen using free Wi-Fi. Some people from the rural areas were sitting in a tent to listen the chief minister and others and very few of them visited the stalls.
There was no arrangement for training the visitors in the use of digital means of monetary transactions.
