Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation policy has made life difficult for millions of Indians. On Saturday, the Delhi Police said it received 4,500 calls by 6 pm, as angry hordes, standing impatiently in serpentine queues at banks and ATM kiosks, resorted to violence.
There is evidence of panic and chaos in other parts of the country as well. From Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat, citizens are complaining of the pain caused by the sudden decision to scrap old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency note. With the initial support for the clampdown on “black money” waning, angry Indians are taking to uploading videos of the endless queues at banks in villages and cities.
The videos reflect the deep frustration and confusion running in the country.
In one of them, a queue begins in front of the bank and stretches on interminably – a child can be heard giggling bemused as the line snakes around two corners. The video has been viewed nearly 29,000 times on Facebook. It is captioned: “Yet another video of the bank queue in Surat, Gujarat. This could easily go into the Guinness Book of World Records.”
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the 2.5 lakh ATMs around the nation were not recalibrated to accommodate the new notes to maintain the secrecy of the demonetisation operation. He added that it will take two-three weeks to recalibrate all the ATMs – which are running at 10% of their capacity.
Calibration of ATMs is being referred to as a logistical nightmare. It takes an engineer three to four hours to physically recalibrate a machine. With just 10,000 engineers to recalibrate the 2.4 lakh ATMs across the country, it will take several days, if not many weeks, to get the job done.
Perhaps sensing the growing anger in the country, Modi delivered an emotional address in Goa on Sunday, urging the country to bear with the temporary inconveniences for 50 days for a greater cause.
“I know the forces up against me, they may not let me live, they may ruin me because their loot of 70 years is in trouble, I am prepared,” Modi said, while laying the foundation stone for the Goa airport.
At least three Indians have died in queues outside banks. In Mumbai, a doctor was booked by the police after she allegedly refused treatment to an infant because the child’s parents wanted to pay a part of the deposit in Rs 500 currency notes. The toddler died later.
The criticism of the government has been building slowly. Even author Chetan Bhagat has criticised the government’s poor execution of the demonetisation policy and said it had added to ordinary people’s suffering.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has threatened to join forces with all Opposition parties to take on the Central government against its demonetisation scheme.
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