Currency notes chaos- police intervene baton charge in Kucth

Ahmedabad/Bhuj: Even as people struggled hard to get some ‘usable’ cash from banks and post offices across Gujarat on the fourth consecutive day today after the announcement of ban on Rs 500 and 1000 currency notes, police had to resort to mild baton charge to control the unruly mob at some place in Kucth district.

Police said that a large crowd of people had gathered in front of Dena bank in Kothara under Abdasa taluka of the district today. Some people in the long queue become restive and started shouting. Looking at the situation police deployed there first tried to pacify them and later resorted to mild baton charge to control the situation.

In yet another such incident police had to intervene when two groups of people started fighting with each other near a public sector bank in station road locality of Bhuj, the district headquarter town.

Meanwhile long queues of people eager to exchange and deposit Rs 500 and 1000 notes in front of various public sector and private banks and post-offices across Gujarat continued today as well.

At many places people in need reportedly continued to pay commission to some people to get their old currency notes exchanged for a lesser value. ATM’s at many places remained closed or out of cash increasing the woes of commoners.

Some reports of large scale ‘commissioned’ exchange of such notes in rural areas of the state have also emerged.

Interestingly, a divorced woman in Mahesana district had refused to accept such notes from his husband as part of the alimony in a local court while an old priest in Ramvav village of Kutch district had reportedly died of heart failure when several shop-keepers refused to accept the lone Rs 500 note from him which he had taken as loan to buy household items.

Amid the hustle over notes, rumours about unavailability of certain essential items including salt and sugar in Gujarat have also added the woes of already troubled people.

DeshGujarat