Ahmedabad: Rs 5 notes, coins weighty for thieves too

AHMEDABAD/RAJKOT/SURAT: A theft of cash from a shop in Ahmedabad's spices market Madhavpura left the owner rather amused. The thieves took away all the money but left 20 notes of Rs5 denomination untouched.
While there is a rush at the banks to deposit the Rs 2,000 notes, wads of Rs5, and coins of Rs10 and Rs5 are piling up in many homes across the state as not just thieves but vendors too are finding them a liability. These legal tenders are not being accepted at many restaurants, roadside shops and kiosks, and rickshaw drivers in some small towns and villages.
"Though no one is accepting Rs5 notes, we couldn't refuse a regular customer who came from Mehsana. The same night thieves broke into the shop and took away the entire cash including coins. But these 20 notes were left untouched," the Madhavpura trader told TOI.
Social worker Sanjay Parmar, who travels across Gujarat, had a harrowing time using a Rs10 coin. "I noticed that even the conductors of GSRTC buses heading to Himmatnagar, Dehgam, and other parts of north Gujarat refuse to accept Rs10 coins," he said.
Bankers say the stiff resistance to these currencies is due to rumours flying thick and fast that these coins and Rs5 notes will go out of circulation.
Another reason, they say, is the discomfort of carrying a bulk of coins that increases the weight of wallets and purses.
Jayram Desai of Chorawad village in Patan said, “If we go to Ahmedabad, we ensure that the Rs 10 coins are used up in the city itself as no one in our town or nearby areas is willing to accept them. If we get them, we preserve the coins for the next trip.”
Dev Desai, a social worker in Ghatlodia said, “Shopkeepers flatly refuse Rs 5 notes arguing that nobody accepts them.”
The situation is similar in Rajkot as coins of Rs 10 and Rs 20 are a strict no in shops, and street food vendors and are refused by rickshaw drivers too. The banks which get these coins with notes from the currency chest have to send these coins to Surat.
Parshottam Pipaliya, CEOof Rajkot Commercial Co-operative Bank said “There is a rumour that Rs 10 and Rs 20 coins are not in circulation and that’s why people don’t accept them. The other reason is their size. Vegetable vendors and rickshaw drivers don’t want to commit mistakes in returning change as these coins are quite similar to those of Re 1 and Rs 2 and Rs 5 coins.”
The reluctance in accepting Rs 2,000 notes is also rising. In Surat, a popular nonveg food restaurant in the Lal Gate area has put up a notice informing that Rs 2,000 notes will not be accepted. "Several customers are making a payment in Rs 2,000 notes and we are facing serious issues with returning the change. Sometimes they make payments in Rs 2000 notes against just one cold drink bottle of Rs 20. But when we make give Rs 2,000, no one is ready to accept," said the restaurant’s manager.