The government's move to allow families with weddings a one-time withdrawal of Rs 2.5 lakh has been welcomed by people but they say problems persist as banks do not have enough cash to dispense.In a major relief to families that have an upcoming wedding, the government on Thursday announced they can withdraw up to Rs 2.5 lakh from their bank accounts by furnishing an undertaking. Welcoming the government's decision, Chander Das, a resident of Krishnanagar in east Delhi, whose younger brother is getting married on Saturday, told IANS: "It's a big relief for us. Earlier we were worried how to make payments."Rohit Bhargav, a MNC executive, said he had deferred his wedding by a fortnight after the government's demonetisation move. After Thursday's announcement, Bhargav said he felt relieved.
"This is a welcome move of the government; this will really help the people whose weddings are lined up in the coming days," said Bhargava."I hope the cash crunch will ease and I will be able to withdraw the money," he said. Paritosh Dikshit, who works in a bank and is to get married in December, admitted that banks have shortage of cash. "There is gap between demand and supply. There is shortage of currency. No doubt it is a good move but it will not be easy to provide Rs 2.5 lakh to customers in one go," he said. Kamal Jena, a resident of Kaushambi in Ghaziabad who is getting married next week, said that he was happy to learn about the announcement but the bank told him that it does not have enough cash.
"They asked me to take only Rs 50,000 as they do not have enough cash. This should be sorted out at the earliest," he said. On Thursday, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters that a member of the household, which has an upcoming wedding, can withdraw up to Rs 250,000 one time and has to give an undertaking that no other individual will be availing such a concession for the purpose. A person has to provide PAN card details to get the money. The government's decision comes amid problems faced by people across the country following the demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee currency notes on November 8 to tackle black money.