<p>Even as thousands queued up outside banks and post offices to exchange the scrapped notes, with an acute shortage of Rs 100 notes hitting Kolkata hard, batta traders at Burrabazar and the city’s central business district continued to make a killing. <br /><br />They reaped in higher returns on Thursday with commission for exchanging notes going further up.</p>.<p><br />If on Wednesday, a section of Burrabazar traders made a killing by exchanging Rs 500 notes at a mark-up of between Rs 20 and 40 per note, on Thursday the rate went up. While they were exchanging only Rs 500 notes on Wednesday, throughout Thursday they started accepting Rs 1,000 notes, giving back Rs 600, while returning Rs 300 for every Rs 500 note changing hands.<br /><br />Market insiders pointed out that while only around a handful of traders were involved in exchanging old notes on batta (commission), transactions went up as more traders joined in. On Thursday, traders broke down Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes into changes of Rs 100, Rs 50 notes, and in some cases, even bundles of Rs 20 notes. Trader Amit Saraogi (name changed), who received a substantial payment in Rs 100 notes on Monday, joined the frenzy to have old notes exchanged.<br /><br />The central Kolkata trading hub, which otherwise operates as a wholesale market for fruits an vegetables and a variety of other products, turned into a market for exchanging money. Insiders claimed that one trader made more than Rs 4 crore in five hours by giving away half of the value for every Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes he received.<br /><br />The functionary of a city-based chamber pointed out that the trend at Burrabazar gave a glimpse into the desperation of people who had large volumes of undisclosed money. “Serious players would not be affected since they would have made other arrangements. They would have used proxies and fronts to invest in property, buy gold... No one hides notes in mattresses any more. Those exchanging notes at Burrabazar are mostly small-time black money holders,” he said. </p>
<p>Even as thousands queued up outside banks and post offices to exchange the scrapped notes, with an acute shortage of Rs 100 notes hitting Kolkata hard, batta traders at Burrabazar and the city’s central business district continued to make a killing. <br /><br />They reaped in higher returns on Thursday with commission for exchanging notes going further up.</p>.<p><br />If on Wednesday, a section of Burrabazar traders made a killing by exchanging Rs 500 notes at a mark-up of between Rs 20 and 40 per note, on Thursday the rate went up. While they were exchanging only Rs 500 notes on Wednesday, throughout Thursday they started accepting Rs 1,000 notes, giving back Rs 600, while returning Rs 300 for every Rs 500 note changing hands.<br /><br />Market insiders pointed out that while only around a handful of traders were involved in exchanging old notes on batta (commission), transactions went up as more traders joined in. On Thursday, traders broke down Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes into changes of Rs 100, Rs 50 notes, and in some cases, even bundles of Rs 20 notes. Trader Amit Saraogi (name changed), who received a substantial payment in Rs 100 notes on Monday, joined the frenzy to have old notes exchanged.<br /><br />The central Kolkata trading hub, which otherwise operates as a wholesale market for fruits an vegetables and a variety of other products, turned into a market for exchanging money. Insiders claimed that one trader made more than Rs 4 crore in five hours by giving away half of the value for every Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes he received.<br /><br />The functionary of a city-based chamber pointed out that the trend at Burrabazar gave a glimpse into the desperation of people who had large volumes of undisclosed money. “Serious players would not be affected since they would have made other arrangements. They would have used proxies and fronts to invest in property, buy gold... No one hides notes in mattresses any more. Those exchanging notes at Burrabazar are mostly small-time black money holders,” he said. </p>
