After 10 rupee coins, Shopkeepers in Silchar are now not accepting coins worth Re 1, 2, or 5; people in stress

Amid this pandemic people are already in fear and tension, meanwhile, shopkeepers in Silchar are adding more fuel to the fire by boycotting coins on their own. The Government issued valuable coins are turning out to be of no value.

Starting from Meherpur to Rongpur, the entire town is in a turmoil when it comes to accepting coins. The common people nowadays only use coins to donate to the beggars as the needy gives high value to the coins, but sometimes even the beggars don’t accept it. The coronavirus has already devastated a lot of lives and it has been a tough job for many people to make their ends meet now. Recently, Silchar town is seeing a trend where people are inventing their own self-made laws which the district administration never notified anything and about which the entire nation is in oblivion. The financial stress caused by the lockdown due to covid in Silchar left many people in trauma. As Margaret Thatcher said, “Pennies do not come from heaven. They have to be earned here on earth”. Isn’t this the right time to raise the question of why the shopkeepers in Silchar aren’t taking coins?

The administration has always looked into matters that cause a mess in society and this is actually an issue that needs to be solved immediately. Silchar has seen a lot of ups and downs in the past and the city of love has sheltered many people from various regions. Shopkeepers earned more and more as the newcomers settled in the city.

Even while talking about coins, there’s a lack of uniformity among the shopkeepers themselves. There are places in Silchar, where some shopkeepers take one or two rupee coins but others surprisingly don’t. In such a scenario, it has also come to notice that the five rupee coin remains constant as everyone accepts it gladly. But again while trying one’s luck, the shopkeepers don’t accept ten-rupee coins. Nobody dares to take it, not even the auto, tuk-tuk drivers and even auto-rickshaws.

When asked a few shopkeepers about it they said, “What is the purpose of ours taking it, when people in return don’t take it”. Now here comes the biggest question of the year, who is to be blamed for not accepting these legal tender coins issued by the Central Government of India?

Answering our queries District Development Commissioner, Jessica Lalsim responded “We did not receive any complaint regarding the non-acceptance of coins in Silchar. If we receive written complaints we will look into the matter. As far as Re 1, 2, and 5 coins are concerned, we have been using them, so far, we did not witness any rejection from vendors.”

While the administration didn’t find non-acceptance of legal tender coins, it was well observed that many shopkeepers are reluctant to accept them. But maybe no one felt the need to inform the administration about the difficulties they face every day while using coins at shops.