From Our Correspondent
NONGSTOIN: West Khasi Hills is facing shortage of Rs.1, Rs.2, and Rs. 5 coins causing a lot of inconvenience to both the customers as well as to the businessmen in their transactions
Coin shortage has tempted some shop owners to sell off their goods at a higher rate than the printed prices. The illiterate customers especially from the far-flung rural areas have always been cheated by some unscrupulous shop keepers on a number of occasions.
A local shop owner lamented that “Now a days even 50P (fifty paisa) is not accepted in the (state) local market and it has become very difficult for us to keep changes/coins every now and then”
Talking to this scribe many shopowners complained that due to shortage of coins in the market, their business is going down day by day.
A customer who wants to buy a commodity costing Rs 3- usually gives a Rs. 10 note for which the shop keeper has to return back a change of Rs. 7. Under such, most of the time the shopkeeper cannot disposed off his goods for want of coins.
When asked in this regard Branch Manager, State Bank of India, Nongstoin, S.Warbah said that shortage of coins was not only in the West Khasi Hills but the whole state and the reason was that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not release huge amount of coins.
‘‘We (SBI) have no authority to release the coins but only to receive the specific allotted amount given by the RBI,’’ said Warbah.