“Kaam tamaam ho gaya hai !” (Work is at a standstill), is how Ved Prakash and his sister Kamala laughingly described their journey from Lucknow to the Reserve Bank of India, New Delhi for exchanging demonetised currency notes.

Prakash was accompanying his sister, who was staying with her son in Dubai during the 52-day period for swapping the old series ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes.

They are not alone. It’s been over 100 days since the government’s decision to demonetise high value currency notes on November 8, but the serpentine queues outside the RBI have not abated. On a daily basis, hundreds of people line up outside the RBI main office in Delhi to exchange defunct notes. Not all are lucky.

It’s almost reminiscent of the queues outside bank branches after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an almost immediate withdrawal of ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes.

An exchange facility was available till December 30, 2016. Resident Indians who were abroad in the period can swap the notes till March 31, 2017 and NRIs can avail themselves of this facility up to June 30, 2017.

Though the RBI office only starts exchange of notes at 10 a.m., people start lining up at least two hours in advance. They come from all over the country as the facility is available at just five RBI branches.

“I belong to Kerala, but am posted abroad, so I couldn’t get the notes exchanged. Now I have come back specifically for this purpose,” said Vijay Singh, an army officer.

A bunch of tourists from Australia have also been standing in the queue that moves only by a couple of feet every hour. They eventually leave to seek help from their High Commission.

Brisk business

Meanwhile, business along the pavement is doing well as chaat walas and fruit and ice cream sellers set up shop. An enterprising young man also made a makeshift stall on his motorbike and gives out free Reliance Jio sim cards to those interested.

An RBI official at the main gate makes periodic announcements on the facility and lists out the required documents and limits for exchange. Many return on hearing the announcement as they don’t have the required documents or are simply not eligible for the exchange facility, while some start looking around for touts or guides who can help them fill up forms or even cut down the queue.

It’s unlikely that it will be a quick trip for any of the people in the line. Many applications get rejected by the RBI, some have incomplete documentation while some will not make it by time.

At 2:30 p.m., the RBI closes the facility for the day. Much of the crowd also leaves gradually while others sit around and plan what to do next. Most are unclear as to what to do with the demonetised currency.

On being contacted, the RBI referred to its FAQ circular that was updated on February 17. “We have no information to share beyond the FAQs at this point in time,” said an RBI spokesperson.

But, with 10.72 lakh crore notes in circulation by February 10, for the government, the remonetisation process seems now almost complete.

(Names have been changed on request)

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