Thursday, the weekly market day in Pernem was dull, with some shoppers returning home empty handed as sellers had no change for the Rs 2000 notes they proffered. The shoppers too had little change due to the limited withdrawal amounts imposed by the government.
At banks and ATMs along the coast, tourists stood in line to exchange their cash wasting much of their brief time in the State. The beaches also saw fewer Indian tourists. This drop in local tourists can be corroborated by the number of vehicles entering the State. Sources said that 3000 vehicles would enter Goa through the Dhargal checkpoint, paying the toll but the number of vehicles has now been reduced to half.
“The demonetisation announcement has affected toll collection very badly. There has been 50 percent decrease in the daily collection of toll at the Dhargal booths,” a Colvale PWD official said.
The toll booths accept notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 but due to limited withdrawal and limited change, tourists have been cancelling their holiday plans.
“When a tourist gives us a Rs 2000 note it becomes difficult to give back the change and sometimes we allow the vehicle to go through without taking the fee,” an official at the toll booth said.
Before the demonetisation announcement, there used to be some traffic snarls as vehicles used to queue up at the toll booth, but this does not happen now.
