Black money crackdown: Commuters caught unawares

Ahmedabad residents Jinay Shah and Kritesh Darji, were in fix soon after the Prime Minister’s move to scrap the current Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes. Both had to reach Mumbai for a conference and left home by evening, unaware about the government’s move to curb black money.

Ahmedabad residents Jinay Shah and Kritesh Darji, were in fix soon after the Prime Minister’s move to scrap the current Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes. Both had to reach Mumbai for a conference and left home by evening, unaware about the government’s move to curb black money.

Ahmedabad residents Jinay Shah and Kritesh Darji (in pic), were in fix soon after the Prime Minister’s move to scrap the current Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes. Both had to reach Mumbai for a conference and left home by evening, unaware about the government’s move to curb black money.(HT)

“Our first hurdle was to reach Ahmedabad airport. The rickshaw driver refused to accept currency notes of Rs500. As we were travelling we were only carrying notes of higher denomination. We had to open a Paytm account and transfer money to him,” Shah said.

Later, when the duo reached airport and went to buy food, the same problem cropped up. “We were lucky that the man at counter allowed us to take sandwiches and didn’t take money as we only had Rs500 and Rs1,000,” Shah said.

The next hurdle for both was booking a hotel room in the city. “No one was ready to accept cash and only wanted either Rs100 notes or debit card, added Shah.

Most domestic airlines stopped accepting currency in the banned denominations