PANAJI: Senior citizens on Saturday gave the thumbs-up to the special window for exchange of notes although there were not many of them to exchange the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.
It was a day of manageable crowds in banks on Saturday with accountholders able to withdraw and deposit money with relative ease and staff getting a reprieve.
The ATMs however did not have enough money and ran dry by afternoon.
A pensioner who dropped in at the SBI, treasury branch, Panaji was happy that the government had a special facility for the elderly.
“I had already deposited Rs 23,000 of old notes and had no notes to exchange, said senior citizen Smita Naik, adding that she could withdraw money in just 15 minutes because of less crowd.
There were only three people in the exchange queue at the SBI treasury branch which had thinner crowds in the morning and even later in the day. Most of the customers had come for withdrawals. The branch also witnessed
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diminished rush for depositing old notes while the mobile ATM stationed outside had about five to six customers in the queue.
The Bank of India’s branch opposite the ferry wharf in Panaji had five elderly people walking in to exchange the scrapped currency notes for a total value of Rs 9,500, said the branch manager.
“Most senior citizens may have already exchanged or deposited their old notes,” he said.
At the Canara Bank branch at 18th June Road also there was low turnout to exchange notes and overall number of customers was less. Similar low crowds were also observed at the Corporation Bank near Panaji church, Union Bank at Mala and Goa State Urban Co-operative Bank in the city.
Observing the low turnout of senior citizens who came to exchange the notes, several managers said that elderly are prompt in depositing the scrapped notes and that people’s stash of the demonetised currency notes may have reduced.
The coming week is likely to witness lesser customers for exchange, they said, adding that the news of indelible ink is also likely to deter many people from exchanging the notes.
Slightly diminished crowds were also observed in branches with heavy footfalls. The SBI main branch at Panaji and the BOI, Campal branches attracted more people but the numbers were little lower than previously, staffers said.
Banks catered to just senior citizens (for exchange) and their accountholders on November 19 as per an advisory from the Indian Banks Association.
The move tempered crowds a bit, felt branch managers.
On November 8, 2016 the government demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes to crack down on black money, counterfeit notes and corruption. The move triggered a frenzy of customers for exchange and deposit of old notes with branches choked with customers. Banks are also crowded as most ATMs are not functioning or running dry in a short time.
Several measures are initiated by the government to reduce the crowds and the window for exchange of old currency for senior citizens is one of them.