When Chennai had money, no cash

TIMES OF INDIA

Usually, S Saravanakumar orders idli, sambar and coffee for breakfast. On Wednesday, though, the software engineer made do with a cup of coffee. The restaurant he frequented, like many others in the city, had pasted notices saying `500 and `1,000 currency notes would not be accepted, and requested exact change.

"I could order only coffee as I had only one `50 note," said Saravanakumar, a regular customer at Sangeetha restaurant in Mylapore. He was not the only one affected. After `500 and `1,000 notes were demonetised, the eating out and shopping scene in the city were particularly impacted, with many retailers refusing to accept the scrapped notes or even cash on delivery.

A few restaurants refused to accept cash altogether. Rain Drops, a part of KTDC hotel on Greams Road, pasted notices on the door saying the 'banned' notes would not be accepted. It also refused to accept cash for the lunch buffet, priced at `175. "The staff told us to pay by card," said a customer.

Restaurants also registered fewer footfalls. At Saravanas on Radhakrishnan Road, there were hardly any customers. "It has been dull since morning. Usually, the parking would be full during lunch hour but today it is vacant. We think it will take at least three days for things to settle down," said a staffer.

Customers logging into the website of food delivery start-up Swiggy were greeted with this message: 'Change' is great. Except for today. Use any one of our many payment options to place your order. COD has been paused temporarily."

Supermarkets and bakeries that wouldn't accept cards for purchases below `200 ensured their business wouldn't suffer by accepting cards even for amounts below `100.

Soon after the news broke on Tuesday night, many headed not just to ATMs and petrol bunks but also jewellery stores. Even the soaring price of gold on Wednesday didn't deter them from trying to turn their stashed away cash into yellow metal and many stores obliged. However, some like Tanishq sent out messages saying, as per RBI guidelines, their showrooms would not accept the demonetised notes.

Small roadside vendors took a hit, though. "I always avoid taking `500 and `1,000 notes because of the fake currency scare. We usually change it for lower denominations at the Koyambedu market at the end of the day," said Kanakavalli, a fruit vendor on C P Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet. "Today, business has been very bad. I usually make about `4,000 a day, but today I haven't even crossed `300. Even my regular customers have bought fruits on credit and promised to pay later."