Long queues again at petrol pumps in Punjab, Haryana

Long queues were witnessed for the second day today at petrol pumps across Punjab and Haryana, including here, even as several shopkeepers stopped accepting Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in the wake of their demonetisation.
Like last night, long queues were witnessed at most of the petrol pumps today.
Many people said they wanted to fill up fuel to get rid of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes while others pointed out that they felt it was better to have their tank full "in the present scenario".
"As of today, petrol pumps seem to be the only place where you can dispose off these higher denomination currency. Also, it is better to have your vehicle's fuel tank full in the present scenario," said Rajeev Verma who had to wait for nearly 30 minutes at a filling station here.

Similar scenes were witnessed at many petrol pumps across Punjab and Haryana.
At many petrol pumps, people were refused change on the grounds that there was shortage of Rs 100 and lower denomination currency and were asked to give exact amount for which they wanted to buy fuel.

While serpentine queues were witnessed at the pumps, many market places, however, registered poor footfall.
"The business is poor today. Not many people have made purchases today," said a garment showroom owner here.
Many people lamented that most of the shopkeepers had stopped accepting the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes and an acute shortage of the notes of smaller denominations was seen everywhere.

At many places the shopkeepers put up display boards, stating that they were not accepting the demonetised currency.
However, some shopkeepers developed their own methods to tide over the situation.
"A shopkeeper accepted the notes of higher denomination and gave me signed slips mentioning the balance amount after I had made the purchases," said Anita, who had gone to buy some articles in a market here.
People at many places in Punjab and Haryana including Chandigarh said that they faced difficulty in purchasing items of daily need like milk and bread today, as those supplying these items refused to accept Rs 500 or Rs 1000 currency notes.

People also faced hardships in using public transport as there was shortage of lower denomination currency notes.
A patient, who visited a private doctor here, said he was turned away when he made a cash payment of Rs 500 as the doctor's fee.
"The staff at the doctor's clinic said that I could either pay the amount in lower denomination currency or make payment through debit card," he said.