'Surgical strike' against black money sends nation into panic

New Delhi: The nation went into panic mode soon after PM Modi's announcement on currency notes, as serpentine queues were witnessed outside ATMs, petr­ol pumps, jewellery shops and shopping malls last night. Chaos was reported fas many tried to barter or sell the now invalid R500 and R1,000 notes in a hurry.

It was chaos in Lucknow and many other parts of UP, and law enforcement agencies were asked to step up vigil in the state. Serpentine queues were witnessed across Punjab and Haryana.

Many in Telangana and Andhra were disappointed as the ATM machines were not dispensing R100 notes. In Puducherry, long queues were seen before ATMs of almost all banks. Panic, anger, praise and confusion - the reaction was mixed in Kolkata as even Metro Railway counters refused to accept R500, R1,000 notes. Meanwhile, a toll booth in Gurugram declared itself toll free for an hour to prevent a traffic snarl morning. In a relief to daily commuters, the government today extended the use of old notes of R500 and 1,000 at metro railway stations in Delhi till Saturday.