Unaware Of Demonetisation, Says Destitute Man, Seeks Help To Exchange ?65,000 Invalid Notes
Five years after the old currency notes were rendered void, a blind destitute man in his 70s carrying wads of demonetised notes was led into the Collectorate by a good Samaritan.
Chinnakannu, the man, who led life on the streets was reeking of desperation,?seeking help for exchanging his old notes of 500 and 1,000 rupees amounting to 65,000 in total. He claimed that the amount has been his life savings which he earned through begging.
Never heard of demonetisation?
Chinnakannu had never heard of demonetisation until Sunday, when he discovered the currency notes that he had stacked away at some point and either forgot about them or could not find them in time for use.
The man, Chinnakannu, who hails from Chinnagoundanur village in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu has now filed a petition with the collector's office.?In the petition, he said he has been begging in the area for many years and had saved the amount hoping to use it in his old age.
Want notes converted into latest currency
He had forgotten where he kept the amount for the last few years due to an ailment and could not change the notes as he was unaware of demonetisation.?He requested the authorities to help convert the demonetised notes into the latest currency.
With only ?300 as last of his savings, Chinnakkannu was worried about how he would find food once he ran out of cash, said Kannayyan, the cobbler who chanced upon the old man. Moved by his plight Kannayyan brought him to the Collectorate.
Case will be forwarded to RBI
While the petition was forwarded by the District Revenue Officer to the District Lead Bank Manager to be referred to the Reserve Bank of India, an official source said, the currency exchange was unlikely. ¡°There is no possibility of exchange of currency since as per the RBI guidelines, the last date was March 31, 2017. It is no more a legal tender as per the Government of India,¡± he said.
The District Lead Bank will forward the case to the RBI and wait for their response, said a bank official.
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