BHOPAL: Whether the demonetisation decision of the Modi Sarkar has put black money out of circulation is a moot point but what is certain is that it has turned a lot of hard-earned white money of the common people into scrap.
Housewives are still stumbling upon scrapped notes, which were hidden and forgotten, at odd places in homes and are desperately looking for ways to exchange them. Of course, none is available.
“A couple of week ago, my elder daughter was cleaning an almirah when her hands fell on a polythene bag. When she opened it, she found Rs 16,000 in old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. I had won the amount in games held in kitty parties over the past couple of years. I had kept it the almirah and then I forgot about it,” said Maya Gupta, a home maker. She was visibly distraught. “Rs 16,000 is a big money for a middle class family and I don’t know what to do with these notes. I am told if I keep them, it will attract penal action. Is that true?” she asks. As an afterthought she added, “The government should have given more time for exchanging these notes”.
Similarly, Sudha Sharma who runs a boutique says, “A few days ago, when I was keeping heavy woollens in a trunk, thinking that they would no longer be needed, I saw my old overcoat in the trunk. Gripped by nostalgia, I took it out and wore it only to discover Rs 10,000 in scrapped Rs 1000 notes in one of the pockets. But they are not of any use. It is just like raddi” adding that “I think, we women have been one of the sufferers of the decision.”
Rohit Verma, a 12th grader said, “A few days back, as I was flipping through a reference book I found a Rs 1,000 note between the pages. It was given my ‘Buaa’ to me on Rakshabandhan last year. At that time, I had thought I will use it to party with my friends after my half-yearly exam. Then it slipped out of my mind”. Without making any effort to hide his disappointment, he said, “Now this cannot fetch me even a Five Start chocolate bar”.
