The bankers are having a tough time to keep count of the black money haul after the seizure of “unaccounted” cash in the wake of the Income Tax Department raid on an Odisha-based distillery group.
Representation image (Photo:ANI)
The bankers are having a tough time to keep count of the black money haul after the seizure of “unaccounted” cash in the wake of the Income Tax Department raid on an Odisha-based distillery group.
“It has become a Herculean task. We have counted cash of various denominations to the tune of Rs 270 crore so far. The round-the-clock cash counting exercise now on its 5th day is still underway. We are expecting it to conclude in the next 24 hours,” said a banker of a nationalized bank.
The counting was carried out at three places in the State. While it has come to an end at two places, it is still continuing at Bolangir, confided the banker.
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The counting operation is being carried out with strict surveillance of IT personnel with State police and Central Industrial Security personnel guarding the premises.
While the IT Department points out that it is the “highest-ever” black money haul by any agency in a single operation, the bankers in the State observed that never before they were assigned the task of counting such enormous heaps of currency notes.
“We are reminded of demonetization days. Heavy workload was exerted then. But this time, the extent of load was manifold and much higher in magnitude,” said the stressed bankers, who have been working overtime since 6 December.
Though 40 large and small currency note counting machines have been pressed into service to count the notes, the machines are bearing the brunt and are unable to handle the enormous load. Some of the machines turned dysfunctional to be replaced by standby machines. Technical personnel are also on the alert to attend to the machinery snag, they revealed.
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