Cashless In Rural Uttar Pradesh: Deserted Subzi Mandis, Long Road To An ATM
Here’s how rural Indians are dealing with the cash crunch in the Delhi to Lucknow corridor.
The story is the same across India. Long lines outside bank branches and ATMs to withdraw money and deposit old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes after the government’s demonetisation move. But the magnitude of impact varies. In urban India, debit and credit cards and digital payments have come to the rescue of many cash-stranded citizens. But in parts of rural India a functioning bank branch is a luxury. This India survives on cash - to buy food, seeds for farming, agricultural supplies, to receive daily wages and survive.
BloombergQuint’s Twesh Mishra sets out on a journey through Uttar Pradesh to bring you stories of how its least privileged citizens are transitioning to a cashless India.
First Stop On Day 1: Dankaur
Dankaur is a small town just outside the National Capital Region and a stone’s throw away from India’s only Formula 1 track. Dankaur is known for its food grain mandi (market), where farmers from neighbouring villages meet to trade produce. BloombergQuint’s Twesh Mishra stops at this town with nine bank branches and one working ATM to chat with traders and vegetable vendors on the cash situation after the government banned high denomination currency notes (Rs 500, Rs 1,000).
Dankaur To Tentigaon
Tentigaon is located at the halfway point between Delhi and Agra. It has just one bank that caters to over 25 neighbouring villages and three ATMs. But villagers say the ATMs haven’t worked in 6 months and the lone State Bank of India branch has not been able to dispense any cash ever since the government announced the withdrawal of old currency notes.
Day 2: Pit Stop At Etmadpur
November marks the beginning of India’s wedding season but in Etmadpur (and probably the rest of India) the band baja have fallen silent this past week. Residents of this small town 17 kilometres from Agra have been waiting in queue at the local bank branch for the last four days but with no cash to show for it.
Hazratpur: No Bank Branch In Sight
Hazratpur village in Uttar Pradesh has no bank branch or ATM. Villagers have to travel at least 10 kilometres to the closest town, Etawah, to exchange their old currency notes. The Rs 4,000 cap on currency exchange means that farrmers are left without enough money to buy fertilisers, crucial at the start of the harvest season.
Trucking Industry Thrown Out Of Gear In Babarpur
The government's demonetisation drive has thrown the trucking industry of out gear. Truckers need a steady stream of cash to pay for fuel, entry tax at state and city boundaries and other on-road expenses. A shortage of Rs 100 currency notes have now left many of them stranded and starving. But not all are complaining.
Mandis Bear The Brunt
Local mandis are usually buzzing with activity on any working day as local farmers throng to the market to sell their produce. It was fitting then to end our journey through rural Uttar Pradesh at the Unnao vegetable mandi. The mood was definitely not cheerful, with one trader telling BloombergQuint that the government's weekly withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000 lasts him only half a day.