the goan I network
MAPUSA
Most of the banks were yet to receive cash from the treasury and were servicing the customers with bank reserves, which were fast depleting with the rush.
Almost all the banks were ready for the surge in customers and accordingly arrangements were put in place.
Apart from having to wait for long hours in the queue, by and large the deposit and exchange of cash exercise passed off uneventfully.
The main State Bank of India office in the heart of Mapusa witnessed long queues from early hours.
“We are exchanging Rs 100 currency notes as per the directives of the RBI both to account and non-account holders. So far, everything seems to be working clockwise,” said Prasad Kamat, SBI
Mapusa General Manager at around 11 am.
He said the bank was yet to receive new currency notes from the treasury branch, but the Mapusa branch had enough liquidity to meet the demand through the day.
Bank of Goa (Mapusa Urban Coop Bank) Manager Suresh Naik said that the bank failed to receive cash till late in the evening. “We have not received any cash either from SBI or HDFC, from whom we normally source currency. We managed the day with whatever cash we had in our reserves,” Naik said.
He said the bank expected cash on Friday.
Meanwhile, SBI will service all the 21 ATMs under its jurisdiction with Rs 100 notes till late in the evening, the source further said.
Apart from having to stand in queue for long hours, most customers were by and large satisfied with the bank’s system of distributing cash. “I have had no problem in exchanging cash. But a separate queue for senior citizens would have helped,” said Datta Naik, who stood for almost 40 minutes in queue in SBI, Mapusa.
Apart from the bank’s private security, a Mapusa Police team was also present at the entrance of the SBI to regulate the entry of public in
the bank.
Complaints of long queues were reported from most banks in Calangute, Aldona, Tivim and other villages.
Stamp paper dealer faces the heat
MAPUSA: Suraj Book Stall, the main stamp paper dealer in Mapusa, was caught in a piquant situation, as bank officials refused to accept payment in high denominations for purchase of high value stamp papers.
“We deal with stamp papers from Rs 100 to Rs 500, Rs 1000 and even in lakhs of rupees. One official in the bank initially refused to accept cash for the purchase of the stamp papers,” Bhai Pandit of the Suraj Book Stall told The Goan.
He said he was a regular customer of the bank and deposited lakhs of rupees for the stamp papers. However, better sense prevailed and the bank official finally allowed him to deposit the cash but with a condition that he should avoid purchasing stamp papers for next couple of days.
