Creative Billing! Kolkata Patient Settles Rs.40, 000 Hospital Dues in Coins

Well, this can certainly be termed as a family’s gutsy stunt to clear a hospital bill! In the wake of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to curb terror and black money, a Kolkata based family dumped a bag full of coins to pay a medical bill on Thursday.

Sukanta Chhaule, 35-year-old dengue patient was undergoing treatment at B P Poddar Hospital and Research Centre in Kolkata. The hospital authorities asked the family to arrange Rs.40, 000 for his discharge.

Since the family had no plastic money and Rs.500 & 1000 notes were tendered illegal, the situation triggered panic. They offered the old notes and also tried to utilize the option of payment by cheque, but the hospital turned it down.

Snehashish, the patient’s brother, said, “We had pleaded with the hospital authorities to accept the old notes or a cheque. But they refused. So we thought about collecting the coins, which, we knew would be difficult but not impossible.”

At their wits end, the Chhaule’s started sending messages on WhatsApp groups to garner support from friends, relatives and neighbours to collect coins.

Talk about the power of social media! The response was phenomenal! The Chhaule’s were soon inundated with a torrent of coins. “While many gave us all the coins they had at home, others handed us their children’s piggy banks.We kept receiving the coins till midnight,” said Tapas Ray.

Believe it or not, but by 3 am, the family had collected Rs.40, 000, the amount to be paid to the hospital. The Chhaule’s filled the coins in cellophane packets and crammed the packages inside a big jute bag. On Thursday morning they reached the hospital to clear their dues with coins.

Flabbergasted by the situation, the authorities initially refused to accept the coins, but yielded on being threatened with police action. Apparently, it took 6 workers around three hours to count the coins. Sukanta was finally discharged at 3 pm.