At PM Narendra Modi's Adopted Village In Varanasi, Slippers For Bank Queues

Jayapur: At 9 am this morning, a long line of slippers filled the queues alongside cash-strapped men and women outside this bank in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's adopted village in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

In an unusual sight, at least 100 sets of slippers, some with chits on top of them with name of their owners, were seen in queue along with about 50 men and women standing outside a bank in Jayapur village to exchange and withdraw their money after the government in a surprise announcement scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes earlier this week.

The harried villagers, after waiting for hours, resorted to this method of holding their place in queue with slippers.

55-year-old Sahrunissa, whose daughter Tajo, 20, is getting married on November 22, is struggling to get the cash. The mother-daughter duo were standing in line for hours to get at least Rs 20,000 from their two Jan Dhan accounts.
 Sahrunissa's son, Zahid said he was worried how his family will meet daily expenses as the family's daily income is not much and they largely rely on cash. "I don't know if we'll manage to do all this today. I am worried for my sister, "said the 15- year-old standing in line with his sister.

However, locals say they are willing to bear the hardship if something good comes out of it. "If the unscrupulous are caught, and there is some parity between the rich and the poor, I am all for it," says Kishan Patel.