In Jaipur, people giving cheques even for buying milk and bread

JAIPUR: City's residents were seen hopping from one ATM to another in a hope of finding cash, but most of the ATMs remained dry even on Sunday.
"I have been trying to get some money in order to pay my milkman and the domestic help. They are not willing to accept cheques because then they too will have to wait outside the bank," said Gaurav Agarwal, a city-based trader.People also fear that the call for 'Bharat bandh' would add to their miseries.
"Customers are coming to my shop with cheques for buying products like milk and bread. But I cannot accept them," he added.
Situation is likely to improve on Monday as banks expect that RBI will send sufficient cash. "Since demonetization, my weekends are spent standing in queues outside banks and ATMS. Since Saturday morning, I have been journeying across the city to find some working ATMs," said Akshay Sharma, a resident of Jhotwara. According to bank sources, more than half of the city's banks and ATMs have not received enough cash. Because of this, the queues outside banks are likely get longer in the coming week. The banks and ATMs in rural areas were equally hit by the cash crunch. Several people from Jaipur drove to nearby towns of Manoharpur, Shahpura and Neem Ka Thana to withdraw cash but returned empty-handed.
"The banks in rural areas are seeing longer queues every day. The cash is quickly running out at these banks and ATMs. More and more people are thronging the banks because of the wedding season," a bank official said.
Customers relying on debit and credit cards too had to face severe problems as many swipe machines stopped working due to network congestion. "People who come to our restaurants had to return as the swipe machine often stopped working due to network problems. We have now decided to only accept mobile-based payments from now on," said Rahul Singh, the owner of a restaurant .