Bhubaneswar, Nov. 24: Parents from suburban areas and villages across the state are having a tough time sending money to their kids who live here to pursue their studies.
The Centre's decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 has led to long queues in banks and post offices where people are turning up in hundreds to exchange and deposit old currency notes and withdraw money.
Arindam Mishra, 24, a resident of Bargarh, who is preparing for banking examinations, said: "I had two Rs 1,000 notes, which I exchanged last week. The money was spent so I asked my brother to send me some more, but he couldn't, as there was such a huge rush at the banks. Finally, he came all the way from Bargarh to hand me the cash yesterday after which I was able to pay my house rent."
Satyavama Patra of Ganjam had similar problems. "I have been living here for the past two years to prepare for the medical entrance examination. Because of the demonetisation drive my father had trouble sending me money. I couldn't pay my coaching fees on time. My father had to take the help of one of my friends to send me the money through online payment mode," Patra said.
Many students studying in coaching centres and other educational institutions here, who don't belong to Bhubaneswar, are facing similar problems.
The mother of one such student, Manorama Sarangi, 58, told The Telegraph that she had to stand in queue at a bank for nearly two hours to send money to her son, Sumeet Sarangi, an engineering student.
Manorama said she had trouble withdrawing the money from the bank, as the limit has been pegged at Rs 24,000 a week. "It was time to pay my son's annual college fees, which was about Rs 39,000. I had withdrawn cash worth Rs 24,000 by standing in queue for three days. I borrowed the rest of the money from a friend and managed to send it to my son," she said.
Dilip Kumar Routray, a resident of Nayapalli, who is preparing for engineering entrance examinations, said it was a difficult time for parents living in rural areas as many of them were not familiar with online money transaction facilities.
Sources at a leading examination service provider in the city said they did not extend the date for making payment of the monthly tuition fees for the students.
However, post-demonetisation, they have relaxed the rules and allowed the students to pay fees online or in cash without worrying about any late fee charge.
Spokesperson of another mid-level coaching centre said they had asked their students to make the payment online, through netbanking or such means that would entail cashless transactions.
"However, those who want to make the payment in cash can do so in both the old and new currency notes till November 30," said the spokesperson.
When it comes to house rent, a number of landlords are yet to get the payments from their tenants because of the current cash crunch.
"I accommodate nearly 15 students. I received payment from eight of them before November 8, but the rest are yet to pay me their dues," said Sanjay Baliarsingh, a landlord in Rasulgarh.
He said: "Demonetisation has triggered a cash crunch and we should tackle the situation together. I have asked the defaulters to make their payments by next month."
However, the story is different for Gorang Seth, 24, a banking aspirant living in Acharya Vihar. Gorang failed to pay his house rent and now has been asked by his landlord to clear his dues before the end of this month or vacate the room.
"I am trying to arrange for the money from some of my friends as my father couldn't go to the bank to send me some because of the long queues. I am optimistic that I will be able to pay the dues in time," said Gorang.
