After an agonising wait of over 24 hours, people are thronging banks on Thursday for exchange of their Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes.
Large crowds were seen at many bank branches in Hyderabad even before the commencement of business hours this morning, and many gate-crashed to be the first in queue when the doors opened.
"I never expected that I would have to face a stampede-like situation to use my legally earned money," lamented P. V. R Sastry, a retired teacher, while struggling to find a place for himself in the queue at the Andhra Bank branch in Ashoknagar here.
Read Demonetisation and its aftermath
Bank staff were seen directing the customers to fill request slips to indicate the denomination of notes and attach a valid government ID proof.
"We are prepared and have opened counters for exchange of notes, " Lakshmi, an officer at the branch told BusinessLine.
Private banks such as ICICI Bank and Axis have sent text messages to their customers informing them that they could deposit any number of demonetised notes in their accounts.
There is a daily limit of Rs. 4,000 for exchange of old notes.
"We are sure that the crowds will get much bigger as the day progresses," said Ravi, a clerk in SBI.