On 1 December, the first payday after PM Narendra Modi dropped the demonetisation bomb, lakhs of people will get their salaries, and queues at the banks will get longer while there is little supply of notes.
Pradeep Sarate is a 25-year-old security guard in Mumbai. He lives alone in a tiny 18X7 room and has to take care of three households. His mother and ailing father live in a village in Kohlapur district of Maharashtra. He sends Rs 8,000 in cash to them every month. He also supports his sister’s family by sending them Rs 5,000 per month.
However, due to the cash crunch, he could not send them money last month. His father and sister, who are completely dependent on him, are now calling him repeatedly.
Pradeep toils for 12 hours a day and does not even get a weekly off. He has no time to stand in an ATM queue everyday. The one time he stood in the queue, he got a Rs 2,000 note, which is “practically useless” as there is not enough change.
Pradeep was eagerly waiting for his salary when this video was shot on 30 November. However, he is worried that he may not get cash in hand. This payday is no less than a Mayday for him and many others like him, who have obligations to send cash back home.
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