Officials appeal traders to accept the notes; Fuel pumps see deposits of Rs 6 lakh worth of pink notes
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made an announcement on Friday evening, stating that the circulation of Rs 2000 pink notes will be discontinued by September 30. Consequently, over Rs 1 crore worth of these notes were deposited in nationalized banks in the city on the very first day.
The printing of Rs 2000 notes has been halted, and ATMs are no longer dispensing them. This had led to speculations among citizens that the notes would eventually be discontinued. However, the impact of the announcement was not significant on Saturday, as bank transactions proceeded smoothly without any long queues. While the exchange of Rs 2000 notes will begin next week, individuals are still allowed to deposit them in their accounts. Several nationalized and cooperative banks in the city observed no crowds in front of the counters on Saturday.
Notes worth Rs 6 lakh at fuel pumps
During the day, Rs 2000 notes worth Rs 6 lakhs were collected at 40 petrol pumps. Some confusion arose among traders in the market regarding whether or not to accept the pink notes. In the morning, some traders in the Mondha area refused to accept Rs 2000 notes, but by the afternoon, they started accepting them. Similar situations were observed elsewhere, with no signs of panic.
Notes in SBI currency chest
Employees from rural branches brought bundles of Rs 2000 notes to the State Bank of India's Kranti Chowk currency chest on Saturday morning. The pink notes were deposited in the currency chests, but there was no rush at the counters for account holders.
No need for concern
Mahesh Dange, divisional manager at Bank of Maharashtra, assured that there is no need for concern and encouraged merchants to accept the pink notes as usual.