Locals in Gundul village in Bastar's Kanker district were amazed to see the new Rs. 2,000 notes. They had only faintly heard of the currency ban at a nearby market. Sukhdev, a farmer who doubles up as a cook at a government school in this Maoist area in Chhattisgarh, recently gave his life's savings, all of Rs. 11,000 in banned Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes to an acquaintance to get it exchanged, despite having a Jan Dhan bank account.