THARODA (BHILWARA): Poor cellular connectivity , power cuts and the absence of financial institutions have made a mockery of the claim made by the government of turning Tharoda in Bijolia tehsil, Bhilwara , into the second cashless village in the state.Naya Gav in Ajmer, officially, became the first cashless village.The village, which was declared cashless by MP Subhash Baheria amid much fanfare on January 24, has its nearest ATM and bank 4km away. While most of the households have bank accounts and regular bank accounts linked to Aadhaar cards, none of the shops in the village have swipe machines as they are costly.The presence of Paytm, the e-wallet which has become popular after demonetisation, appears to be the sole reason for giving the cashless status to this village. Net banking and credit-debit cards have not still made any inroads in the village.The village, which has a population of 2,300 living in 407 households, including 43 BPL families, has 600 smartphones, according to a survey. It has 11 shops, one flour mill, a medical store, and a saloon along with five general stores and three tea stalls.TOI did a reality check in the village to find that this agrarian economy - where milkmen, fodder salesmen, maids, vegetable vendors, plumbers, electricians and agricultural labourers form a sizeable portion of the workforce - has no cashless mechanism to pay or accept wages or remuneration. While you find Paytm barcodes at all shops, they are only the second choice if you don't have cash."Yes, I declared this village cashless. My team did an extensive inspection and found that all transactions were cashless. I had tea in the village during the inauguration and paid through Paytm," Baheria told TOI.The MP was responsible for informing the PMO about the cashless initiative in the village in his constituency. But when the district administration informed him about the grim reality of poor networks hampering cashless transactions, Baheria allocated funds to provide free WiFi to the village. This did not alter the situation. When villagers approached the minister of state for finance Arjun Ram Meghwal for the function to declare the village cashless, he refused due to negative feedback.

Stay updated with all the Latest Jaipur headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.