ABDUL WAHAB KHAN | NT
PANAJI: The student community has been severely hit by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move on demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 as most of them have no money for their daily expenses, which include spend on mobile recharge.
With no other option left, the students are approaching friends and even relatives for borrowing a few hundred rupees as loan or shopkeepers for credit. As colleges and schools have reopened after the Diwali vacation, students are ‘forced to wage a struggle’ as parents have stopped or restricted giving smaller denomination notes in form of pocket money.
Speaking to this daily, a college student Amar Naik from Miramar said that “I needed an Internet recharge, but had no money for that. Finally, after some struggle, one shopkeeper agreed to do it on credit. I can’t even hang out with my friends as my savings from pocket money have got exhausted.”
Another student Sunita Kamat said that “I just buy things on credit. There is no money left with me. Even bus operators refused to return the change upon being given high denomination notes, and asked us to exhaust it in form of fare by travelling that many times.”
A teacher from Vasco-based government school said that the school management doesn’t have new currency notes to pay for refreshment of students and as a result a field trip had to be cancelled.
Many foreign and neighbouring state students enrolled for professional courses in the state are perhaps the worst affected.
Twenty-year-old Sanjeev Morar, a hotel management student, from Raipur, who is doing his internship at a starred hotel, has run out of money for his daily expenses.
“Every month I used to receive Rs 4,500 from my father but this time, I could not get money because banks don’t have enough cash to disburse. I am not able to travel by bus, so I walk a distance of four kilometre to the workplace,” he said.
“I have only Rs 50. I can’t even buy a meal and am just eating noodles and bread. At least a 24-hour notice would have helped,” said 21-year-old student from Chennai.
An Afghanistan student, Akhtar, pursuing BA at a Mapusa-based college said, “We have been facing problem as it was sudden announcement, and many of us did not have money.”
“I share a room on rent with four others. So, I could manage by borrowing money from them to pay for my transport. We are now buying stuff in small quantities, so that our money lasts for the next two days till things normalise,” he said.
Students from private institutes, who have come to the state from Middle East countries, are also affected. These students do not have cash in hand nor are they able to withdraw the money from ATM counters, as most of the machines in the city are not functioning.
“My father had sent me money earlier this month, but it is lying with forex agency. The forex agency has only old notes. I have to pay house rent and also need money for my daily expenses, that include food, travel and study material. I do not have any cash in hand and most of the banks are not accepting old notes from foreigners. I am not able to open account here. I don’t know what to do,” said Awdh Harbi, from Saudi Arabia, who is studying English.
