Sir,

This is with regard to demonetisation of Rs. 2,000 currency notes and exchange in Banks particularly the so-called Nationalised Banks.

I visited SBI Branch Office in K.G. Koppal, Mysuru, along with Rs. 2,000 notes amounting to Rs. 20,000. This was in accordance with a Government Order.

In fact the previous day I had exchanged Rs. 2,000 notes (amounting Rs. 20,000) at Bank of Baroda (where I do not have an account) by just giving my PAN number along with cash.

But to my horror at SBI, the Manager outrightly refused to accept the cash for exchange as I did not have an account in that Bank and Know Your Customer (KYC) form too.

No amount of requests moved the Manager. I pointed out that only the previous day I had exchanged Rs. 2,000 notes at Bank of Baroda branch without having to adhere to the SBI rules. In the end I had no choice but to deposit the amount in my wife’s SB account (my wife is an account holder in the particular Bank).

The above episode left me with a hurt feeling and kept me wondering how can the Order of the Government be different from Bank to Bank.

– C.K. Aiyanna, Bogadi South, 1.6.2023

NOTE: This is the problem in all our Government Institutions. It is primarily because the Head of the Institution is not a leader — he is either dependent on the rule-book following its letter only (like following the Holy Books)  and not its spirit. These are the officers without any capacity to take a decision where his own intelligence and common sense should come to resolve the problem. We have come across many such instances and had to fight it out because, after all, it is our money. —Ed

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