Why there are no takers for new Rs 500 notes despite the hype

The new R500 note

Chaos reigned supreme as crowds continued to gather in large numbers outside various banks and ATMs on Tuesday in the hope of getting their hands on the new Rs 500 currency note.

The government had announced that the new currency denomination would be available starting Tuesday onwards. mid-day visited branches of four different banks -- HDFC, ICICI, YES bank and Indus Ind -- in the Bandra-Kherwadi area and witnessed long, unending queues. However, till 10.30 am today, nobody had managed to get their hands on the new note.

Interestingly, Mukesh Kumar, manager of Bank of India headquarters in BKC, said that people weren't interested in laying their hands on the new currency note. "The request that we are getting from our account holders is for more Rs 100, Rs 20 and Rs 10 notes," Kumar said.

People line up outside Bank of India's BKCâÂÂu00c2u0080ÂÂu00c2u0088branch this morning. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

mid-day also got a closer look of the new Rs 500 currency note and found that it is more compact, when compared to the earlier note. "The new R500 currency note is very good and the best part about it is that it is smaller in size. Because of its size, it can easily fit in the wallet. The other interesting thing is that it has an in-built security feature. Authorities will be able to scan the note if someone is hiding it below the ground," added Kumar.