Department of Posts Secretary B
V Sudhakar told PTI.
New
Delhi: People have
deposited a staggering Rs 32,631 crore in nearly 1.55 lakh post offices across
the country following demonetisation of Rs 500/1000 currency notes.
The
post offices have also exchanged about Rs 3,680 crore of old currency notes
between November 10 and 24, Department of Posts Secretary B V Sudhakar told
PTI.
"From
November 10 to November 24, we have exchanged 578 lakh notes of value of about
Rs 3,680 crore. If you look at the deposits, 43.48 crore old Rs 500 and Rs 1000
notes were accepted as deposits, and their value is about Rs 32,631
crore," he said.
As
many as 1.55 lakh post offices -- about 1.30 lakh in rural areas and the rest
25,000 in urban and semi-urban areas -- are playing a "prominent
role" in the entire exercise, he added.
During
the same period, Rs 3,583 crore was withdrawn from post offices, Sudhakar said.
Following
demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes from midnight of November 8, people
rushed to banks and post offices to deposit or exchange old currency notes.
Serpentine queues were seen in front of banks, ATMs and post offices with
people lining up to get valid currency notes.
Those
without postal savings accounts were also permitted to exchange the old notes
up to a certain limit in the post offices by producing their identity cards.
While
the window of a fortnight to exchange these currency notes over-the-counter at
banks and post offices ended on November 24, the old notes can be deposited in
bank accounts until December 30.
