Traders and consumers in dire straits with coins

 From a Correspondent

DHUBRI, Aug 5: Consumers and small traders of Dhubri as well as other towns of the district, have been facing acute problems due to large circulation of coins from Rs 1 to Rs 10 denomition since the last couple of months. The situation has come to such a pass that small traders like tea stall owners, betel-nut shop owners and even auto-rickshaw drivers and TOTO are refusing to accept coins, and this sometimes leads to public nuisance.
Owner of a stationery-cum-betel-nut shop, Sanjive Paul said that he had a stock of coins amounting to Rs 50,000, which he was neither been able to deposit in the bank nor make payment to the whole sellers.
 “Banks are not accepting the deposit of coins while whole sellers too are not accepting payment in coins. As a result, the entire money is lying idle without any opportunity for me to reinvest them in the business, and this is affecting my business badly,” Paul said. There are over 3,000 small and petty traders like Sanjive Paul who are now in a dire straits with a large quantity of coins.   
 According to a prominent trader dealing in food items, there are not less than Rs. 5 crore coins in circulation in Dhubri district, of which nearly Rs 4 crore was out of circulation and lying with small traders. “If the situation goes like this, small traders will run short of items in their shops, which is not good for buying and trading market ahead of the festivity season beginning with Raksha Bandhan next week,” traders said.
 When contacted, Dhubri Branch Mager of UCO Bank, Pijush Saha informed that they were accepting the deposit of coins up to Rs. 500 as above that amount would create problem in the present set-up of the bank. “If someone comes with a bag full of coins to deposit, it will be a problem for us, but deposit of coins up to Rs. 500 is okay. No bank can refuse depositing the coins. Moreover, for counting the coins you need extra manpower as it consumes time and you cannot accept deposit in weight,” Saha informed.
 Saha also said that he had coins over Rs. 20 lakh in the chest of his bank (Dhubri UCO Bank) and was uble to release them due to fall in demand of coins. A bank source informed that contrary to this problems in Dhubri district, RBI in a recent circular instructed all the banks to organize con fairs at various places to release the coins according to the need of the market. In view of demonetization, RBI pumped large quantity of coins in the market so that there was no shortage of coins of small denomition, but now this overflow of coins in the market is creating another problems for consumers and small traders, sources added.

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