Banks in Noida collect Rs 2,000 notes worth 15 crore on Day 1

NOIDA: Bank counters opened on Tuesday to take back 2,000-rupee notes. Although there were no queues, the pink notes worth Rs 15 crore were deposited or exchanged in banks in the city by the end of day.
Vidur Bhalla, the lead bank manager in Noida, said there were 570 branches of 40 banks in the district where people could deposit or exchange the pink notes.
“On Tuesday, a total of Rs 15 crore was deposited or exchanged in denominations of 2,000. According to our records, the district has Rs 750 crore in 2,000-rupee notes,” he added.
Counters at several bank branches that this correspondent visited wore a deserted look on Tuesday morning. At an ICICI Bank in Sector 18, there were 5-6 persons in the queue.
Among them was Mukesh Yadav, who runs a salon. “I prefer using the ATM to deposit cash. But I came today because there was hardly any queue,” he told TOI.
At the IndusInd and HDFC Bank branches in Sector 18 too, the scene was hardly different.
Bhalla said the banks had made all arrangements to ensure a seamless experience for their customers. “When RBI issued the circular on May 19, it gave banks three days to make arrangements. The old currency notes are still legal tender. People can exchange them within 120 days,” he added.
But residents found another option to use the 2,000-rupee notes. At superstores and fuel pumps, many customers whipped out the pink notes, even if it meant haggling with the salesperson at the counter to get change.
Uma Singh, a resident of Ghaziabad, had come to Smart Bazaar at DLF Mall to buy groceries. “We shopped for around Rs 7,500 and gave four notes of 2,000-rupee denominations. The cashier accepted the notes and returned the change,” she said.
Hitesh Pahwa, the floor manager at the store, agreed that many customers were paying in the pink notes. “We have seen an increase. We are accepting the notes without any condition,” he added.
At fuel stations, however, operators had a problem. Some bikers bought fuel worth Rs 100-200 and gave 2,000-rupee notes.
Rahul Awana, who runs a petrol pump in Sector 15, said they faced the problem of change. “At one point, we stopped selling fuel to customers who bought petrol for Rs 100-200 and sought to pay in 2,000-rupee notes,” he added.
In Ghaziabad too, pumps had to refuse customers after a point.
Vaibhav Singhal, fuel station owner in Shashtri Nagar, pasted a notice that customers needed to buy fuel worth at least Rs 1,000 if they wanted to pay in the pink notes. “We are not banks to exchange or deposit any number of notes. We faced a crunch of change and had to paste a notice,” he said.
Customers also flocked to jewellery stores with the high-denomination notes.SK Jain, general secretary of the Noida jewellers’ association, said an advisory had been issued to members regarding 2,000-rupee notes.
“If a customer makes a big purchase using the 2,000-rupee notes, jewellers should note down the currency numbers and take a photocopy of the PAN card,” he added.