Commuters, traders in Ggn bear brunt of demonetisation

Commuters and traders in Gurugram faced several difficulties on the first day after demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes.

Even as the city residents welcomed the move by the Centre, many admitted that the first day was filled with challenges as they had become used to conducting with transactions higher denomination currency notes.

Among the people who faced major difficulties city were the commuters in Gurugram, especially those who use the Kherki Dhaula toll. Massive traffic jams were witnessed along the stretch, which went as long as two kilometres.

The obvious reason attributed to the jam was refusal of toll booth attendants in accepting currency notes of Rs 500 and 1000. They regularly kept falling short of currency notes of lower denominations.

Kherki Dhaula toll is a vital transit point, frequented by commuters going towards New Gurugram, which comprises sectors 81-90 and Jaipur.

The toll rate in evening was made free till November 12, after Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari informed in a tweet. Besides commuters, businessmen and traders — specifically those dealing in jewellery and building material — also complained of the difficulties faced during transactions. The traders said that since most of their customers preferred transactions with cash, the move by the Centre to void Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes will affect them greatly for some time.

A building materials supplier, on condition of anonymity, highlighted: “Since there is a lot of small time construction which happens in the city, we get a lot of builders as customers. Most of them want to only deal with cash and not through cheque.” The supplier further said: “As a preventive measure, we will now be dealing through cheques.”