Postmaster general's office

People had lined up since morning to get their Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currencies exchanged or deposited at the post office. Though the queue progressed smoothly, there were some voices of resentment too. They complained that the postal employees were refusing to accept the revised exchange limit of Rs 4,500.

Unit-IX resident Akshya Kumar Pal (left), 28, a corporate employee, said he was aware that the government had revised the exchange limit from Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500, but the employees refused to accept it on the ground that they were yet to receive relevant guidelines from the authorities concerned. "I had been in the queue for nearly one hour. I just learnt that the post office was not accepting the revised exchange limit. This is disappointing," said Pal.

 

 

 

Petrol pumps

Government employee Sujit Mahapatra (left) is happy that the deadline to accept scrapped currencies at filling stations has been extended. Mahapatra drove into the petrol pump, got the required litres of petrol for his four-wheeler and cleared his bill with a few illegal tenders. "The demonetisation move hasn't affected me as petrol pumps are accepting the scrapped notes. If there is any problem, I use my debit or credit card," he said before driving off.

Though The Telegraph found that most filling stations were following government guidelines and accepting Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, biker Himansu Nayak had a different take on the issue. He said two-wheeler owners were facing problems as petrol pumps were not giving change against the banned notes. "I had to pay in smaller denominations after filling up for Rs 200 of petrol," Nayak said.

 

 

BMC office

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is accepting the scrapped notes towards payment of holding tax. People continue to line up in the main office of the civic body and its three zonal offices to pay their dues. A civic body official said many people were clearing their huge arrears. The civic body on Monday collected Rs 48 lakh towards holding tax, which is the highest so far. The collection was Rs 18 lakh on November 13.

Krushna Chandra Choudhury (left), 35, told The Telegraph that he paid the holding tax for his flat with the old notes. "The employees here do not hesitate to accept the banned currencies. The officials are very co-operative and I paid my dues with ease," said Choudhury, a resident of Lakshmi Sagar.

 

 

 

Medicine shops

In such trying times, medicine shops in Bhubaneswar are accepting the scrapped high denominations notes. This has come as a much needed relief for relatives of patients who are facing cash crunch. One such a shop at Bapuji Nagar said they were following the guidelines and accepting the scrapped notes.

Mahamaya Mishra (left), 35, who was at the Bapuji Nagar shop to get medicines for his father, paid the shopkeeper Rs 4,000 - all in old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. "The shopkeeper accepted the banned denominations. It's a welcome move as medicine shops fall in the ambit of emergency services and should remain outside the jurisdiction of any such prohibition till the situation gets normal," said Mishra, a Chandrasekharpur resident.

Pictures by Ashwinee Pati