It has been 13 days since the central government announced the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, yet open markets of all kinds continue to feel the pinch. The fish trade in Pune has also felt the brunt of demonetisation, with trade dropping by 30-35 per cent. Some of the traders have now started installing point of sales (POS) machines so that they can receive payment in the form of credit or debit cards. The first week after demonetisation was bad and the market was closed for seven days, said Thakur Pardeshi, a trader at Ganesh Peth wholesale market. Both retail and wholesale trade takes place only with cash and people had no cash, he said. Though the situation has improved a bit, Pardeshi said it is still far from becoming normal, and has compelled some of the traders to consider getting card swiping machines. At the Shivaji Market in Camp, trade is down by 30-40 per cent, said Aatish Pardeshi, a trader. Of the 17 shops operating in the market, only one or two have POS machines. According to Pardeshi, the POS machines are difficult to operate as the network connectivity in the area is poor. It is difficult to carry out most of the transactions, he said. The charges levied to carry out the transactions are also substantial, claim the traders. With cash supply drying up, Pardeshi said many of the traders have been forced to accept the withdrawn notes as they did not want to lose business. Demonetisation has certainly hit us as our business was very cash intensive, he said. B D Taru, owner of Taru fish shop near Kumbharwada, said business has dropped by 30 per cent after demonetisation. We used to do business worth Rs 50,000, but now we hardly cross the Rs 30,000 mark per day, he said.
2016 The Indian Express [P] Ltd.