Demonetization move puts a Chennai wedding on hold

CHENNAI: People in Chennai queued up in large numbers outside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to exchange Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.   A Chennai man, who wanted the bank to grant him over Rs 4,000 for his friend's daughter's wedding, was denied the amount by the authority. He had even carried the wedding card as proof. Nirmal Kumar's friend's daughter marriage is planned for Friday morning and reception is scheduled for today in the evening. He came to exchange the old 500 and 1000 rupees note in the Chennai office of the Reserve Bank of India. Because of the unexpected announcement by government, the family was in a state of panic as to how to exchange their money to be able to conduct their daughter's marriage. So now friends of the family and relatives are helping by providing the correct currency. "My friend's daughter is going to get married tomorrow and her reception is scheduled to take place this evening. We came to the Reserve Bank of India to exchange notes, but only got Rs.4000. Even though I demanded more money by showing them the marriage invitation, they refused to give it. We demand that the government reconsider the decision and favour at least the needy," Nirmal Kumar said. "This is just going to be a big problem for people," said a middle-aged man waiting in front of an ATM in Chennai to withdraw money. The residents had mixed reactions to the unexpected announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes will cease to be legal tender from midnight Tuesday, with most calling it a "big problem" for the common man.