Jaipur: Scarcity of coins in the market has city traders on the edge. So much so that most of them are paying 8-10 per cent commission to 'agents' for a bagful of coins. The RBI office in Jaipur has made arrangements for distribution of coins, but those are just not enough. "There are serpentine queues and there is no surety you will get a bagful of coins at the end of the day," said Pradeep Shah, a pharmacist who had to return empty-handed on Monday. "I did not get the coins despite waiting for three hours on Monday," said Satyender, who runs a milk shop. "I am forced to pay agents Rs. 20 per day for the Rs. 200 worth of coins I need," he added. The coins' crunch is not limited to small retail shops; even big chains are also suffering. They claimed that they are forced to turn to private coin changers, who charge anywhere between 6-8 per cent commission. "Acute shortage of coins has hit businessmen hard. They have to deal with loss of business and irate customers who often have to forego the change," admits Ravi Nayyar, vice-president, Federation of Trade and Industry, Rajasthan. "The growth of both the retail sector and over-all economy has led to this. There are many players in the market now and so the demand for coins has gone up by many-fold. Sadly, the supply of coins is still the same old," Ravi added.
Daily Bhaskar
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