Sales down as people buy only basic items

Manju Sisodia, a resident of Alaknanda, is running short of grocery items at her home. She is neither left with enough ₹100 notes nor any change to buy items for her daily requirements.

She went to her neighbourhood bank twice to exchange old notes but returned empty handed due to the heavy rush.

“I need at least ₹1,500 to buy grocery items but I have just ₹300 right now. The sudden demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes has hit my house budget,” said Sisodia. She had no option but to use the small notes and loose change kept at the altar during puja offerings.

Majority of local grocery stores don’t accept debit/credit cards but the bills often run into thousands. In the present circumstances when people have little cash in hands and are buying only basic items, sales had also gone down.

“My sales went down by more than 80% after the announcement. I don’t have enough money to even pay the balance to customers so I am simply turning them away,” said Ashish Puri, a grocery owner in Kamla Nagar.

Shopkeepers hope things will change soon. “Though I am selling grocery items on credit to some regular clients, with others I can’t take that risk. I am just keeping my fingers crossed,” said SK Ahuja, a retailer in Naya Bazar.

According to Ahuja, people buy goods in bulk as it is wedding season. But suddenly the situation has changed. “It will take at least 15 days for things to get normal,” he said.

Manju Malik, a house maker and a resident of Malviya Nagar, has realised the importance of change which she kept in her kitchen cabinet everyday.

“I bought pulses for ₹86 with this money yesterday. The rest of the grocery items I will buy when I have enough cash,” she said.