Petrol pumps or gas stations topped the list of destinations to visit on Wednesday. Courtesy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of the demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday. Citizens were seen collecting smaller denomination notes in exchange for bigger notes as well as conducting value purchases, filling petrol, diesel and CNG in their vehicles at petrol pumps.
Hoping to get a few smaller denomination notes in exchange for the 'bigger' notes and shedding the 'no longer valid' 500 and 1,000 notes, people in Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara flocked to petrol pumps at midnight on Tuesday and even started queuing up at the gas stations the next morning on Wednesday.
"This is a good idea to get Rs 100 notes in exchange for bigger notes. I filled petrol worth Rs 1,100 and utilised one bill of 1,000 and 500 each and in change I got 4 notes of Rs 100. This is an achievement!" exclaimed Nirali Shah, a resident of Vadodara.
Shah wanted to collect a few more smaller denomination bills to meet her daily household necessities till the time new bills come into circulation.
Meanwhile, petrol pump owners were seen rushing for cover as the crowds grew. At a few places in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Anand, police were called in to control the crowd and avoid scuffles. However, soon the petrol pumps ran out of the smaller notes.