With cooperative banks barred from exchanging notes, rural people hit hard in Himachal

SHIMLA: With cooperative banks not authorised to exchange defunct currency notes, people living in rural and remote areas of Himachal Pradesh, mostly farmers are finding difficult to cope up with the Centre's demonetisation move.

Most of these farmers have accounts in cooperative and Gramin banks as they have taken loans from these financial institutions.

With their hardship in mind, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has urged the Centre to allow cooperative banks to exchange the scrapped currency notes.


The state government has provided a helicopter for rushing Rs 2,000, Rs 100, Rs 50 and other small denomination notes to far-flung, remote and tribal areas of the state to ensure adequate of valid currency.

As per official sources, currency notes worth Rs 29 crore have already been airlifted and sent to tribal areas.

With the advent of winter, snowfall is also likely in the coming days in these high altitude areas.

The state government is ensuring that all essential commodities including foodgrains, fuel, fodder and other items are stored in advance to tide over the winter months when such areas remain cut-off due to closure of high mountain passes after snowfall.

After the demonetisation move, Rs 650 crore had been deposited in the 15 main banks in Kangra district alone, while currency worth Rs 50 crore had been exchanged, official sources said.