Delhi: Note ban slows down final journey of dead

NEW DELHI: Rajkumar Singh, 63, brought the body of his brother-in-law all the way from Haryana to Nigambodh Ghat for cremation early on Saturday only to find that the authorities there had announced just the previous day that the old currency notes would no longer be accepted as payment. He waited for sunrise before starting out on a hunt for ATMs. Seven hours after reaching the crematorium, he finally managed to take out some money at an ATM in Kashmere Gate.
Money might not have any meaning for the dead, but for those performing the final rites, demonetisation has come as another reason for grief. Though the government has said that the scrapped notes will be accepted at crematoriums till December 15, the committees at Nigambodh Ghat and Lodhi Road crematorium are worried in the absence of clear guidelines. “We have written to RBI chairman Urjit Patel for directions on how to exchange the old notes we have collected till now,” said Anil Gupta, supervisor at Nigambodh Ghat. “If we continue to accept old notes, we will get just 15 days to exchange them by December 30, and in these circumstances, 15 days are not enough.”
Given the sensitivities involved, it is a dilemma for the crematorium. For all his efforts, Rajkumar Singh found the people paying in old money at the cash counters later in the day. The lengthy lines of people waiting to pay the Rs 2,200 for the pyre wood forced officials to accept the old notes. The problem, said the ghat officials, originated in people of all social and economic backgrounds bringing their dead there. Those from the city come armed with the new notes, but those from the lower economic strata or rural areas do not.
“I think it will be best for them to introduce card payments,” said Rajiv Parashar, who came for the cremation of his aunt and had to pool cash from friends to pay the charges. The crematorium authorities agree and hope to introduce card swiping from mid-December.
The Lodhi Road crematorium, run by a private trust, is beset with similar dilemmas. “We are requesting the people to give us new notes, but can’t force them,” said Arun Sharma, the supervisor there. On Saturday, he allowed two families to carry out the final rites for free because they didn’t have the required currency. “Since the cases were critical, we asked them to write out an application and go ahead with the cremation,” explained Sharma.
The working committee of the crematorium will meet the trustees soon to discuss if Paytm or card swiping can be introduced as modes of payment. “We really feel the need of a swiping machine at the moment,” admitted a harried Sharma.