Couple ‘discover’ demonetised currency in Tamil Nadu's Erode district; Collector comes to rescue

Having spent all the money that they had to make ends meet during the lockdown, a couple in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district discovered Rs 24,000 in cash which they had saved over the years from a locker at their home a few days back.

But the abundant joy brought in by the “discovery of the money” was short-lived as the cash they had in possession were demonetised currencies.

K Somu (58), who lost vision in both eyes a year ago, and his wife Palaniyammal, who has disability complaints, got the shock of their life when officials at a bank told them on Friday that the money they had was no longer legal tender.

But on Monday, the couple sported a smile after quite a long time, following Erode District Collector C Kathiravan’s intervention.

As their plight was highlighted by the local media, Kathiravan invited the couple to his office on Monday and handed over a cheque of Rs 25,000 to Somu and Palaniyammal to meet their expenses.

“It is just an assistance to the couple in my individual capacity as they have no other source of income. Both have health issues and the lockdown has crippled them. So, I decided to help them,” Kathiravan told DH.

Somu, who was selling incense sticks until he lost his vision a year ago, and Palaniyammal have been living in penury for long. The couple have been living on a meagre Rs 1,000 that is being offered to them by a philanthropist every month. And demonetisation made life tough.

“Since we spent all money we had, we decided to search our house hoping to find some cash. When we opened a locker, we found currency notes in bulk and felt very happy. Little did we know then, what we thought was a treasure were just pieces of papers as they were no longer legal tender. The bank officials sent us back,” Palaniyammal told DH.

She said the money, Rs 24,000, is part of the money that Somu had been giving to his mother, who also lives with them, every week. The couple, who do not have any children, said since they did not have access to television and newspapers, they never read about demonetisation.

“We are thankful to the District Collector and other officials who made efforts to bring back the smile on our faces. We hope the money will be useful for us to make ends meet as none of us have a job,” Palaniyammal said.

This is not the first time such an incident is being reported from Tamil Nadu. In November last year, two septuagenarian sisters in Tiruppur district came to know that Rs 46,000 that they painstakingly saved for over a decade by raising goats were demonetised three years ago.