TNN | Dec 14, 2016, 04.10 AM IST
GURUGRAM: Early in the morning on Tuesday, questions fly thick and fast as TOI joins the group of daily wagers who, like every other day, had converged upon Labour Chowk near Bristol Hotel in Sikandeprur. How can we exchange our old notes? Can we open a bank account here in Gurgaon? Is the Aadhaar card enough for opening an account? What about the subsidised food the government had promised for us? What benefit will come from demonetisation? How will it curb black money?
Their bewilderment and ignorance shed an unflattering light on the Centre's tall claims about a cashless, digital economy, and its campaign to open bank accounts, Aadhaar cards, etc. Financial literacy? Nobody here had ever heard of Paytm. "I started working as a mechanic when I was eight years old. I attended school upto Class IV. How would I know all this?" said Manoj, 35, a labourer from West Bengal. In fact, bank accounts and e-wallets are far from the minds of these people, who are scraping for work and food.
A majority of the around thousand men and women who gather at this junction every morning looking for work, don't have Jan Dhan accounts. Everyone appears to have Aadhaar cards though. When asked if any government representatives have visited them yet to assist them in opening bank accounts, they said no. The few who had managed to get work on odd days, said they received payments in the demonetised notes. Without bank accounts, they had no option but to exchange them for change by paying a commission.
"When they hire us, they promise to pay in new currency. But once our work ends, they give us the old notes. Some even give us a Rs 500 note and ask us to return them Rs 200 change," said Muktesh, from Jaipur in Rajasthan. He added that some labourers have got thrashed for protesting such behaviour.
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it is high time Govt. accepts that implementation of demonetisation, actually issuing of new cash has gone horribly wrong.
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For the city's daily wagers, not only has exploitation increased since demonetisation, but work has also been hard to come by. "In the last 30 days, I've got work on five days. How can I run my family on this?" asked Haseena, a daily wager from Jhansi in Madhya Pradesh.
Though voices of support for the Modi government could still be heard, the overwhelming feeling was of anger and worry. "Note badlega toh desh badlega. Is desh mein jab garib marega tabhi to amir badhega (The country will change when currency changes. In this country, the rich grow richer at the cost of the poor)," said Ravindra Yadav, a labourer from Allahabad district.
Though initially reluctant, they eventually said in one voice they won't ever vote for Modi, who must return to Gujarat. "Modi can do what he wants in the next 2.5 years, as that's all the time he has in power," said Birju Ram from Gaya in Bihar, referring to the next General Elections.