Overuse of sanitizers, washing and drying in the sun has caused notes more than Rs 4 crore notes of every denomination to get spoiled. These notes are now being deposited in the currency chest to be returned to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Fearing infection, citizens started sanitizing vegetables, mobile phones and other daily use items, including currency notes. Citizens adopted various techniques including using sanitizers, using detergent water, washing with hot water and also keeping the notes in the sun for several hours, causing damage to the currency. The sanitizers caused the ink to get faint and also damaged the paper quality. Later these notes got deposited in banks.
The number of such notes collected across the currency chest in the past few months is around Rs 4 crore. That includes notes of various denominations from Rs 10 to Rs 2,000. Giving more information, Surendra Kumar, manager, State Bank of India (SBI) said, "The number of soiled or limp banknotes being deposited in banks has increased significantly. This is due to washing and using sanitizers on notes. On an average, the number of such notes is around Rs 1-2 lakh a month. Citizens must not use chemicals to clean notes. The notes can be kept aside for a few days before use."
Sanitizers damage the security features
Banking experts said that most bills would remain intact during washing. However, it ruins the bills. Sanitizer and hot water can damage security features, and detergents change the way cash reflects light, which currency-sorting machines detect. Drying in the sun can spoil the paper quality. Sanitizer also makes the ink to fade away. Sanitizing cash under a UV light is the best way to disinfect the note without damage.
Notes of all denomination
The currency chest has notes from Rs 10 to 2,000 that have gone bad due to improper sanitization. According to officials, the most deteriorated notes are of Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 500.