Cash crunch: Ahmedabad's rural areas hit hard

AHMEDABAD: Even after two weeks of demonetisation and a slew of measures taken by the government to relieve cash crunch in the country, people in rural areas around Ahmedabad are experiencing acute shortage of cash.
Banks in small towns and villages like Viramgam, Rampara, Ashoknagar, Vanch, Vinzol, Barkol, Kunja, Kuha, Kanbha have lowered their shutters since November 13. Many of these places do not have ATMs either.
Those who have accounts in Ahmedabad District Co Op bank have been able to withdraw small amounts as and when cash was available.However, the bank did not accept cash deposits and people couldn't get their old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes exchanged.
Lack of staff in PSU banks have kept them from operating at optimum level. These banks run with just 2-3 staff members and receive a meagre Rs 5-7 lakh in cash per day. The ATMs have been non-functional since November 10 as banks have no cash to spare to refill them.
According to the manager of Dena bank branch of Dhamatwana village, "We are not getting cash as per demand. The cash vans are also irregular."
People queue up outside PSU banks and wait in vain, their daily lives disrupted. Bhurabhai, a farmer in Hathijan village near Ahmedabad, said, "We have no options. We are standing in queues instead of going to our farms."
The lack of cash has hit labourers and poor people the hardest. Small vendors and businesses have also been adversely affected.
Read this story in Gujarati