Coming to the rescue of patients suffering for lack of smaller denomination currency were V Krishnoji Rao, an international kite expert, and his friends who collected all the Rs 100 notes they could for distribution at Bowring Hospital.
“Relatives of patients admitted in the hospital were in a dilemma whether to stand in queues to exchange their old notes or take care of their family members. Without smaller notes, patients were not able to buy medicines and other basics,” Rao said. The hospital and pharmacies were not accepting banned notes as they were short of change.
Rao and his fiends Niranjan Rao Kadam, Chandrashekhar and B D Shenoy collected all the Rs 100 notes they had and went to the hospital on Sunday. “At first, we thought we would go to the patients individually but we realised that it would disturb everyone. So we set up a counter on the premises,” Rao said. To ensure that only those who were genuinely in need got the benefit, they asked people to produce the doctor’s receipt.
“My son was admitted to the hospital on Thursday for a liver problem. Last month, I borrowed Rs 3,000 from an acquaintance to pay for my son’s treatment but it was in notes of Rs 500,” said Kamalamma, a resident of Shivajinagar.
Her son had to get his blood tested but no laboratory was accepting the notes on the excuse of not having change. “I am very grateful to these people for being kind and helping us,” she said.
By afternoon, the group had distributed change for Rs 500 to 150 patients and change for Rs 1,000 to five patients. “We had Rs 1 lakh to distribute. Many people are coming repeatedly to collect change so we will distribute the remaining Rs 20,000 by going to the patients,” Rao added.
If others join hands, they would like to continue this initiative till the situation improves, he said.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks