GUWAHATI, Nov 21 - The Narendra Modi-led government�s demonetisation exercise has made lives of the middle-class and poorer sections miserable, AIUDF president and Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal said today.
Ajmal said that common people are facing severe hardships after being forced to stand in queues outside banks and ATMs day after day.
He said India is primarily an agricultural economy, but despite it being the major farming season farmers have not been able to buy fertilisers and seeds due to lack of adequate low denomination notes. This has disrupted the entire farming sector.
�Modi-led government has not been able to understand how much harm that will do to the Indian economy. It is also unfortunate that many people have lost their lives due to demonetisation. Today, poorer segments of the society, including daily labourers, rickshaw-pullers and others are facing major hardships, including in availing basic medical care,� Ajmal said.
He said the number of ATMs is far less than required and many of the existing ATMs either do not have necessary cash to meet the demands or are repeatedly malfunctioning.
�At many places ATMs are disbursing only the new Rs 2,000 notes and this is also causing major problems to the people who are finding it difficult to make small purchases. Families solemnising marriages and other such ceremonies are facing a major handicap,� Ajmal said.
The AIUDF supremo added that before announcing the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, the Central government should have put in place adequate alternative arrangements, like increasing supply of small denomination notes to banks and ATMs, so that the common people would not have had to face so many problems.
He said small vegetable growers of Assam have faced major losses due to demonetisation as they have been forced to sell their produce at very low prices. �Vegetables are perishable commodities and so farmers have no other alternative but to sell the items, even by incurring big losses. So, basically demonetisation has proved to be a curse for the poor people as well as people who reside in rural areas,� Ajmal said, calling upon the government and the RBI to increase supply of small denomination notes to banks and ATMs.
