Lining up for you, at a small cost

NEW DELHI: The next time you plan to stand in a queue outside a bank in central Delhi, try and hire a “depositor” who would take your place for four hours, all for Rs 200-400. A group of youths, who prefer to call themselves Good Samaritans, have been “helping” people for a charge.
At Chandni Chowk, Sandlesh Kumar, a garments business owner, pays his workers to deposit his earnings for the day.However, he has also given them a free hand to help others out.
“It was a problem for me because the banks could not provide a time frame within which they would carry out the transaction, so I asked three employees to deposit money for me and my friends. They are earning well from the commission,” Kumar said.
For these youths, who are found in Sadar Bazaar, Chandni Chowk and Paharganj, depositing and withdrawing money at banks has become a livelihood for the past one week. Each of them claim to earn Rs 400-500 daily depending on the cash flow to the banks. Each deposit of Rs 10,000 or more gets them a sizeable commission, while withdrawals cost a flat 10% commission.
“People approach us to save time and the hassle of documentation. Our work was getting hampered due to the phased-out notes, but now business is booming,” said one of the depositors.
Shital Ram, who runs a tea stall near Chitragupta Road, helps the elderly for a small fee.
“I feel good helping them and they don’t mind paying me a commission,” he said. Another depositor, Ved Pal, a resident of south Delhi, has even set up a temporary photocopy shop outside a bank in Chhatarpur where he gives deposit forms and photocopies to his “clients” for free.