BHOPAL: Two years after the demonetisation, a video campaign of Congress raising the same issue has struck a chord with traders , who are considered a traditional votebank of the BJP . The video shows a trader cursing notebandi and GST as reasons for poor business and shouting: “hatao iss sarkar ko.” Congress says it is a huge issue, a blunder adversely affecting the life of millions.Elections in the state are taking place during Diwali festivities when people are generally on a shopping spree. Still, trading community feel the pinch of slowdown and claim poor business. If the traders are to be believed in last two years the business has gone down by almost 50%.There is an anger not only among traders, but also among people, they said.The video campaign lasting a little over a minute has hit the target, said Veerumal Wadhwani, a trader, in Bairagarh. The Congress election -ad has also featured a Sindhi trader and average trader immediately get connected with it, he said.In fact, the BJP is also concerned over the declining market trend. “ But this is a cumulative effect of notebandi, GST and now rising fuel prices. I admit it has antagonised voters,” a senior BJP leader confided.“You cannot attribute entirely it to the notebandi, but to the overall inflation,” he said.State Congress president Kamal Nath said the demonetisation has not only affected overall business, it also led to massive joblessness across the country.Emphasising the significance of the issue, one of the spokespersons of the Congress Bhupendra Gupta said there were about 50 lakh traders in the state and they have a family and employees behind them.“ Notebandi led to a social distress among these people after their business was affected and employees were linked with traders lost their jobs”, he said.Rajneesh Agrawal, a BJP spokesperson however, rubbishes the theory.“You see,” immediately after the demonetisation, we won Uttar Pradesh with thumping majority and then we returned to power in Gujarat. And mind it, Gujarat is a state with large number of business community.”Most ATMs go dry on DhanterasAmid Diwali shopping spree, a large number of automated teller machines (ATMs) went dry in the state capital on Dhanteras, the first of five-day Diwali festivities on Monday. It reminded people days of demonetisation.The very fact the cash crunch continues two years after the notebandi shows its effects are continuing, a bank official said pleading anonymity. Where have violet colour Rs 2,000 currency notes vanished , he asks. “Even the Reserve Bank of India is not supplying it to banks,” he claims.Ever since notebandi took place, shortage of currency notes is a common feature faced by people almost on a day-to-day basis. “Sometimes you don’t get the amount you want to withdraw from an ATM while some time you face an unannounced restriction as there are only notes of a particular denomination available in the ATM,” said Rajesh Mishra, an executive in a private company in Bhopal Virendra Sharma, general secretary of MP Bank Employees Association said, “ As there was a shortage of Rs 2000 currency note, the ATMs are not able to fulfil cash requirement of the people. All ATMs are yet to be calibrated for new currency notes being released.”“And as there is no Rs 1,000 currency note,” he said, “Rs 500, Rs 200 and Rs 100 notes have not been able to meet the requirement despite hard work of the bank emplotyees.”“I had forgotten about demonetisation,” quipped Ajay Vyas, convener of state-level bankers committee (SLBC), “before you asked this question.”“There is no crisis of cash as such whatsoever,” he said. Lalit Jain, president, Bhopal Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, “There is shortage of Rs 2,000 currency notes and it reminds of cash crunch. Perhaps, notebandi was a premature step and I think people were not ready for it.” The entry of multinationals in retail sector has further compounded the problem, he said.POS crisis at train ticket countersThe government promoted use of POS machines after demonetisation especially at public places like Railways where public transact money on daily basis. But at Bhopal railway station, there is only one reservation counter where POS is available and it becomes operational only after 11 am.Use of POS is also discouraged at Habibganj railway station being developed as a model railway station. PRO of the divisional railway manager , Bhopal denied it.“Long back we ordered the availability of POS machines at all major stations of under the DRM office of Bhopal. Let me check it. It is not possible that the POS are not available at Bhopal and Habibganj stations. Let me check,” said PRO IA Siddique.

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