Cashless at Vibrant Guajarat: You might return empty handed

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat has already signed Rs 50,000 crores of MoUs at Vibrant Gujarat. However Modi’s decision of demonetization that has already been subjected to mixed reaction isn’t making everything well in Gujarat. While travelling on Ola and Uber didn’t create much trouble, this correspondent was refused by auto rickshaws near Mahatma Mandir, the venue of Vibrant Gujarat as none of them agreed to take payments through mobile wallets. The police on duty at the venue weren’t helpful either in this matter.

As more than 100 countries participated in the event, the only ATM machine at the venue offered by Dena Bank wasn’t accepting all types of cards.

Even some of the artisans at the exhibition grounds, of which mostly are from rural Kutch areas weren’t accepting digital transactions. You either pay in cash or cheque.

When asked one of the sellers, Jaimal Marwada told the media that it’s just a two-day affair, so he didn’t buy Point-of-Sale terminals. At their villages, they are still comfortable doing business in cash.

While another artisan Kamal Parghi selling saree has made a pact with Gurjari, the state government outlet to accept payments on their behalf.

It seemed that the cashless call of the PM hasn’t been seriously considered at the venue of Vibrant Gujarat. While there were options to pay digitally at Sabarmati dining area, many government officials buying food were paying by cash.

Though Modi has dreamt of a cashless India but that doesn’t seem to be realized anytime soon. The cab this correspondent was travelling in was paying at petrol pumps on cash. On being enquired, the driver said, they are comfortable in cash and would switch to cards only if it is mandatory.