Demonetization hits tourists in Assam's Kaziranga

The demonetization move by the Centre has badly hit domestic and foreign tourists visiting the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, with ATMs running out of cash and tourists unable to pay for services availed.

Cash is the only mode of payment not just for the jeep and elephant safaris, but also for the homestays around the park, much preferred by tourists.

Hundreds of people, including tourists, were seen thronging the ATMs and bank branches in and around Kaziranga, either to exchange the demonetized Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 currencies or to withdraw new bills from the banks.

"I waited in the only ATM in Kohora range of the park on Friday for over four hours. There was a long queue and by the time my turn came, the cash was exhausted," said Parimal Moore of New Delhi.

"We were supposed to leave the park on Friday but had to wait for one more day as we needed to pay for the elephant safari which we had taken on Thursday," he added.

Moore was here with his family to visit the park -- famous for the one-horned rhinos.

Moore is not the only one to have faced such a situation. Hundreds of other tourists visiting the park had to extend their stay due to the crisis triggered by the government's demonetization move.

Some tourists complained that the State Bank of India authorities had not replenished the ATMs for a second time in the day, adding to their woes.

"We paid for the hotel stays with the credit card but we need cash as we are moving further to Nagaland and Mizoram as part of our package to visit the northeast," said Derrik Weber, a tourist from Germany.

"We had already extended our stay here for a day. Now we don't have any cash due to the rush at the ATMs and banks. We hope that the local administration would sort it out quickly," he said.

"Our dates are scheduled for the trip and more changes would create problem for us," said Weber, who is visiting Assam and the northeast for the first time with his friends.

"We enjoyed visiting Kaziranga but the lack of cash now has made it a little troublesome. We understand the crisis and hope that the banks will have sufficient currencies soon to deal with it," said Archana Singh, a resident of Baroda.

She said that she managed to withdraw money on Friday but she needs another Rs 2,000 to pay some bills and move out to Guwahati.

Long queues were seen at most ATMs and banks in almost all places across the state for the second consecutive day on Saturday after the ATMs started functioning following a two-day closure.

Although the concerned bank authorities claimed to have loaded most of the ATMs with new currencies, yet some ATMs, particularly those located in remote areas, remained either closed or cashless adding to the woes.

--IANS

ah/in/rn