Old Notes? No Money? No Problem, Says Delhi Clinic Amid Cash Crunch

New Delhi: Tucked away in the dusty bylanes of a busy wholesale market, an unusual poster greets visitors to Old Delhi's Sadar Bazaar area. "Don't worry if you have old notes or even no money, we will treat you," it reads in Hindi and provides an address of a clinic in the neighbourhood.

At the clinic, several patients have lined up for their turn. Inside, Dr Sardar Khan and his wife Dr Saira Khan are trying to keep up with the steady flow of patients flocking to the humble two-room establishment.
 "I have come to the clinic from far off as I currently have no money and have been suffering from fever for the past few days," said Hasrat. She said she cleans homes for a living and makes Rs 5,000 a month of which Rs 3,000 is spent on rent and the rest on the school fees of her three children who she takes care of on her own. Her husband died from tuberculosis three years ago.

Hasrat's family is among those who have suffered the most since the government outlawed 500 and 1,000-rupee notes last month in a bid to combat corruption and tax evasion. The sudden move that nixed 86 per cent of the country's currency left millions of people without cash even for daily essentials.
 "People I work for are delaying my payments due to the cash crunch," said Hasrat. She and her family have been surviving on the leftover food that her employers give her. She has had to skip work on two days as she had to line up at a government hospital for her fever, but her turn never came to meet the doctor.

"My wife and I have been doing charity work for more than 15 years and realised that people are facing hardships due to shortage of currency and so we put up the sign," said Dr Khan who runs the Unani and Ayurveda clinic with his wife.

"Some patients even called up to ask if we are really accepting older notes for medicine and consultation. I told them that even if they don't have money, they can come here and we will treat them for free," said Dr Saira Khan.