THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
It wasn’t really a vacation day for most tourists as shopkeepers at several places refused to accept Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. As banks and ATMs remained shut, a number of tourists in Calangute were so desperate that they went to shops just to get change for Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, but were turned away by shopkeepers.
Foreign tourists were the most affected as they found it near impossible to exchange their currencies with the banks remaining closed. Left with little Indian currency in their pockets, foreign tourists had to skip the Anjuna flea market, which happens every Wednesday.
An European tourist, on condition of anonymity, said, “We are facing a big problem as no one is accepting Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. We stay in a flat in Goa every year for few months. We cook our own food. Therefore, our daily requirements are few, which don’t cost much. Now, if we go to a supermarket to buy stuff worth Rs 50, no one is going to accept Rs 500 notes."
A number of hotels, taxi-owners, restaurants did accept Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, which helped tourists to some extent.
Pravin Babu a tourist from Mumbai, said, “We arrived yesterday and we had just Rs 600 in cash. We can pay the hotel by using our credit cards, but we need cash for everything else, even for a bottle of water. We have a kid with us, who may need something. We have very little cash in hand. This has caused us a lot of inconvenience.”
Steven Johnston, a tourist from UK, said, “Banks are all shut. There is no way we can get Sterling converted into rupee. All Indian currency we have is in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, which no one is accepting.”
