Banks wear deserted look on last day of depositing old notes

Those waiting at the banks to either withdraw or deposit seemed relaxed and said were awaiting Prime Minister’s New Year eve’s speech...

The short queues at banks on the last day to deposit demonetised currency suggested that most people have got rid of the demonetised notes.

Bank officials said the queues dried up as instantly as they had cropped up after demonetisation. (HT Photo)

“Queues dried up almost as instantly as they had cropped after demonetisation. It appears that most people have deposited all the amount they had into their accounts,” said an official from a cooperative bank, adding that none will be allowed to deposit old notes after today.

An official from a nationalised official said, “We have been given orders not to accept deposits of old denominations after 1:40 pm.”

Those waiting at the banks to either withdraw or deposit seemed relaxed and said were waiting to hear what Prime Minister’s New Year eve’s address. “Whatever was supposed to happen has happened. Now let’s see what Modiji has in store for us,” said Sanjay Nevrekar, a Borivli resident, while awaiting his turn at an SBI branch.

Some even lauded banks’ efforts for managing the cash crunch for 50 days. Vivek Monga, a customer of a nationalised bank in Borivli, said the situation could have been much worse that it is.

“People in Venezuela burned their notes and created havoc. Here, they (bank officials) came to people’s rescue when the whole nation was about to set ablaze,” he said, adding, “People will take decisions, but one should appreciate their immediate response from the very next day.”