Delhi residents line up outside banks as exchange of ₹2,000 notes begins

Even as the searing summer heat continued to scorch Delhi on Tuesday, people lined up outside banks to exchange ₹2,000 denomination notes. Confusion prevailed over the process of exchange and left many, especially the senior citizens, disgruntled.

Even as the searing summer heat continued to scorch Delhi on Tuesday, people lined up outside banks to exchange ₹2,000 denomination notes. Confusion prevailed over the process of exchange and left many, especially the senior citizens, disgruntled.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 19 decided to withdraw ₹2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation in pursuance of its “Clean Note Policy”. The notes were introduced in 2016 following demonetisation which pulled out ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes out of circulation. However the ₹2,000 notes, the RBI said, will continue to be legal tender.

As per the RBI guidelines, people can get ₹2,000 notes exchanged, up to a limit of ₹20,000, from nearby bank branches, starting from May 23. On Monday, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, seeking to allay concerns about the legal tender status of the notes after the September 30 deadline for their exchange or deposit, had clarified that there was no need to rush to the banks; the last date was only meant to nudge people to return the notes soon.

Despite that, people rushed to the banks in huge numbers on Tuesday.

At the Connaught Place branch of Union Bank, as many as 100 customers turned up to exchange the bank notes. Many people were seen jostling for their turn at the cash counter even as the temperature hovered above 43 degrees Celsius in the afternoon.

Manoj Kumar, an HDFC bank customer, took more than 20 notes to deposit but said he was told by the bank staff that he could deposit only 10 of them.

“I didn’t know how much money could be exchanged. So, I brought all the notes I had. I will come again tomorrow,” he said.