Today the economic surgical strike of the Prime Minister is being termed as his master stroke across the entire world and the country. It is worth praising that the Prime Minister kept this surgical strike so secret that leave aside the public, even his own ministers could not smell this. Even the union ministers were briefed about it in the last moment, but the general public was being cautioned for a long time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had given a clear hint that the people not declaring the black money should neither complaint later nor should they appeal. Even after this he had clearly indicated at two or three times that he is about to take a strict action against the black money. For the last time, he had talked of the surgical strike against the black money a fortnight ago. Generally the surgical strike of the Prime Minister is being welcomed across the nation. Most of the people believe that it’s the right step of Modiji in the right direction. It has given a huge setback to terrorism, separatists, hawala traders, and mafia like Dawood Ibrahim. Crores of rupees of the Naxalites have turned to ashes breaking their chord. They’ll need much time to re-organize. Fake note flow has come to a halt in Malda district of West Bengal defamed as the biggest Centre of the fake notes in the country. With the banning of 500 and 1000 rupee notes separatists raising voices in the Jammu & Kashmir have been compromised. These separatist organizations and leaders are also worried that the ban has been imposed at such a time while they were engaged in expedite the drive to instigate the people in the valley. So far as Pakistan is concerned its fake notes worth billions rupees are ruined. Due to all these reasons, the powers promoting the terrorism have got a sharp setback. But so far as the recovery of the black money is concerned, we are not sure to get much success. The elite people having black money should have found the ways to get it converted. It’s the lower class who has been suffering. You can’t torture the 99 percent general public to recover the black money of one percent such people. The scheme of the government may be genuine, but is implementation surely raises a question mark over it. The government had assured the public that the shortage of new notes will be like a guest for one or two days. But now the Finance Minister himself says that it may take some weeks to resolve it. Calibration of ATMs as per the size of new notes will take time. Within just few hours of the economic surgical strike long queues started at the banks. Most of the ATMs are out of cash now. Despite waiting for long in the queue people are bound to be disappointed to get their money. The entire nation is feeling insecure. Discontent is rising. At many places police help is being sought. Many places have even witnessed firing. We can see the chaos and anarchy in Delhi here but what happens with the rural area of the nation? There are neither so much banks nor the credit card economy in the rural areas. The farmer is also worried. He keeps all the agricultural income at his home, since he has no trust in the banks nor does he believe in the credit card. It may have a fatal impact over him when he knows that his lifelong earnings have turned to just a piece of paper. Banks are also in trouble. Bank employees are put to work beyond their fixed working hours. For the last few days bank employees are compelled to work from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. Being not habitual to transact with the new 2000 rupee note, at times they are paying double amount to the customers. In fact with the habit of 1000 rupee note, employees are giving two notes of two thousand to pay him two thousand rupees. Nowadays bank branches have been started in a small space; as such there is huge crowd in such small branches due to the emergency. Ironically these banks have neither separate counter for deposits, withdrawal and nor it was fixed that upto what time you can deposit and you can withdraw. Due to this the normal banking has also been affected. Now markets are also almost closed. At first, the shopkeeper refuses to accept the old notes, if someone accepts he insists on shopping for the whole amount without refunding the balance in change. Now it has also been reported that even the temples have started strictness over the black money. The temples have sealed their donation boxes as an attempt to put a check on black money on Friday in Maharashtra. The aim of sealing the donation boxes is to curb the black money entering those boxes. A woman in Mehboob Nagar in Telangana committed suicide because she had kept 500 and 1000 rupees notes worth Rs. 54 lacs. After the ban on such notes the woman felt that her money has now turned to mere paper. Quarrels have been common outside the ATMs and Banks that have worried the police also. A blind beggar named Sitaram in Dewas district in Madhya Pradesh appealed the Panchayats to convert his money worth Rs. 98 thousand into small notes. Some people say that this economic surgical strike has one aim to create problems for political parties in the Assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, etc. How will they distribute among the voters when they have nothing? The North East is worst affected due to this surgical strike. After the Central Government’s ban on 500 and 1000 rupee note and non-availability of notes in North Eastern states not only the economy has been affected, people are put to too much distress. Banks have been failed to convert the notes in many parts of Assam and the customers are compelled to run from pillar to post. As the news of ban on 500 and 1000 rupee note flashed, the giant black money holders reached the jewelers’ shops. Shops remained open up to 3 a.m. in the night for the first day. Entire day’s sale doubled in just three to four hours. The government did not properly execute the home work before the demonetization of currency. Take the example of the ATMs. These machines are formatted according to old notes. New notes of 2000 and 500 rupee are short, long and light in comparison to old notes of 1000 and 500 rupees. New notes can’t be filled since the old machines haven’t been formatted as per these notes. These machines lack note tray as per new currency. Had the ATMs disbursed 100 rupee notes, with already set format, it would have worked. Now if you pay Rs. 2000 note to a daily earning person, how would he buy milk costing Rs. 20, some quantity of flour, tuition fee, books, copies and medicines, etc.? Secondly every ATM has a capacity of just Rs four or five lacs. Banks and the agencies filling in the ATMs have not 100 rupee notes in ample and they lack proper infrastructure. However, such problems occur in implementation of any major decision and this case too is not an exception. But the formation of country has so many layers that all the preparation of the government scatter. Millions of people are standing in kilometer longs queues to withdraw their hard earned money. The problems needs to be quickly solved which have created hopelessness, anger and discontent in general public. Yet it’s a good sign for the government that the general public has praised this step of the Prime Minister. But if the mismanagement continues as such, the good intentions and far going thinking of the government may be eagerly questioned. If it continues the massive public discontent can’t be avoided. It may hurt the purpose that is the intention of the government. Equal distribution of notes with promptness is the only remedy. The earlier the government feels it, better it is. Else the government has to pay for it. So far as we understand this surgical strike was against the black money and not the general public?
~ ANIL NARENDRA
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