Queues at banks in Agra; child dies for want of cash deposit

Long serpentine queues at banks and ATM kiosks in the city of the Taj showed no signs of shortening on Tuesday while cash crunch was reported to have claimed the life of a two-year-old child in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh.

The child died on Monday as a hospital refused to extend treatment after his parents failed to arrange the required cash in time.

Small traders and shopkeepers were angry that their sales were affected after the demonetisation. Markets wore a deserted look for want of customers, who seemed largely cashless.

People trying to cremate the bodies of kith and kin at the Taj Ganj crematorium here were hassled due to shortage of notes of smaller denominations. The Kshetra Bajaja Committee, which runs the facility, announced on Tuesday evening that notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would be accepted from Wednesday.

A bank source said as per information with them, workers of political parties and employees of industries in the area, including shoe-manufacturing units, have queued up with cash from black money launderers or owners of firms to deposit money in their bank accounts.

On Monday, a 15-day-old newborn also died of a wound as her father had Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes that private hospitals allegedly refused to accept, police sources said.

She was then admitted to the local S.N. Medical College and Hospital, which promptly referred her to All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, but she could not be taken to the national capital as no ambulance driver was willing.

In Firozabad, a private nursing home refused to release a child's body for cremation on Monday till the family arranged money in smaller denominations to clear the treatment bill. The police later intervened to sort out the issue.

--IANS

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