The cash was in Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, which were demonetised in 2016. (Representational)
A blind couple from a village in Tamil Nadu had saved around Rs 24,000 in cash over 10 years only to realise this week that their savings were in demonetised currency.
The 58-year-old man, Somu from a remote village Pothiya Moopanure in Erode district of Tamil Nadu, and his wife Palaniammal had earned the cash over the years by selling incense sticks. The cash was in Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, which were demonetised in 2016 by the government.
Mr Somu claimed he came to know about the scrapping of the high-value currency notes only on Friday when he took the savings to deposit in a bank.
The man said they chose to tap the reserve, kept with the man's mother, as they could not make earnings in the last four months due to the nation-wide lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Somu had taken the cash to a bank where the officials told him that the notes were demonetised. He said the money was saved by him and his wife over 10 years by selling incense sticks and camphor in nearby Anthiyur and surrounding areas.
Every week, he used to give some money to his mother living with the couple and she saved it for them. He used to convert the small amounts of cash into Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 later, Mr Somu said.
He said that he and his family members were not aware of demonetisation.
Mr Somu has sent a memorandum to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami asking for help.
The police said they would probe the matter.
In a similar case last year, two woman, living in Tirupur district of the state, found that their savings of Rs 46,000 were in the demonetised Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes. However, at that time, District Collector K Vijayakarthikeyan had arranged for old-age pension for the two sisters.