Rajnath asks RBI to ensure enough cash in Sikkim

SIKKIM/NEW DELHI: Concerned over currency crisis in Sikkim following demonetisation, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday asked Reserve Bank of India to ensure that people of the north eastern state do not face hardships due to non-availability of notes.

The Home Minister made the request to RBI after Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling spoke to him and apprised him about the currency situation in the state, a Home Ministry spokesperson said. Singh has asked the central bank to make available adequate currency in different ATMS and banks so that people do not face hardships, he said.

Long queues continue in front of ATMS and banks in many parts of the country for withdrawal of new notes and depositing old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision of demonetisation on November 8. The Prime Minister, in a bid to assuage the troubles caused to people over the move, had asked them to give him 50 days to bring back normalcy.

Top state government sources said that a number of state government projects have been stalled owing to acute fund crunch and a “step-motherly approach” by the Modi government. The Sdf-led state government in Sikkim already sent a letter to the Union Finance Ministry last year voicing the issue of abrupt curtailment of Central assistance to the state.