On the other hand, Indirapuram, in Ghaziabad, did not deal with the development so smoothly. Residents, left in the lurch, rushed to ATMs to withdraw 100-rupee notes while they still could, but had to wait in long queues.
“I went to the ICICI ATM in Ahinsa Khand 2 to withdraw cash last night, but had to wait almost an hour! The queue was never-ending,” said Biswajit Mohanty, a resident.
Mohit Dwivedi, a resident of Krishna Apra Garden, said small payments to vendors such as dhobis and autowallahs had become especially difficult. “This sudden decision will affect daily household expenses for the next few days,” he added.
Arun Rai, president of Jaipuria Sunrise Greens AOA, agreed. “This has led to a temporary cash crunch,” he said.
Another resident tried to use up the cash he already had by filling up his car’s petrol tank at a neighbourhood pump last night, but said the staff refused to accept the notes he offered.
Smith Ghosh, on the other hand, found himself unable to pay his rent this morning. “I live in Shipra Sun City and I had withdrawn Rs 8,000 last afternoon to pay my landlord. But with this sudden ban on the 500- and 1,000-rupee notes, he now refuses to accept the amount, as all of it is in the banned denominations.”
Meanwhile, Gurgaon offered a mixed response to the situation. Most restaurants, shopkeepers and cab drivers stopped accepting the notes. Chaotic scenes were common at local bus stands and the railway station. But grocery stores came up with inventive solutions to not disappoint customers.
Ashu Kumar of Romi Restaurant in Sector 14 recounted his experience. He complained, "I had to suffer losses to the tune of Rs 5,000. I had to let the customers go, as most of them were unable to pay the bills.”
Like in Dwarka, in Gurgaon too, shopkeepers worked in tandem with customers to tide over the confusion and chaos. “I am accepting the defunct notes from customers, but am giving them signed slips, mentioning the balance amount," said Mannu Bhardawaj, a wholesale dealer of milk and dairy products in Shanti Nagar.
Another grocer, Anil Kumar, seemed apprehensive, though. He said, “I have never deposited any substantial amount in my account till date. If now, I go to the bank and tell them I want to deposit a lakh, won’t they question me?”
Most grocery stores stopped cash transactions owing to lack of small-value notes. They were lending items of daily use on credit to known customers.
People reacted quite positively to the unanticipated step. Amit Saini, who runs a travel agency, asserted, “Apart from making black money useless, this decision will also stem the menace of fake currency -- at least, for the time being. This step is a masterstroke, and we should be able to bear the small difficulties or losses for some time for a greater cause.”
However, there are others who questioned the efficacy of the measure in dealing with black money stashed away in overseas banks.
