When has one last seen a Tk1 coin?
Although, one of the DGs of the central bank says they have a huge stock of metal coins, people who need them every day say the coins cannot be found anywhere.
With allegations rife that these coins, made of a metal alloy, are being smuggled across the borders, economists say the absence is hurting people’s micro savings habit, which may end up damaging the country’s economy in the long run.
The journey from the capital’s Farmgate to Paltan intersection on a “local bus” costs a commuter around Tk6. If the commuter gives the conductor of the bus Tk7, the conductor will not return the change.
He will say: “I do not have Tk1 change.”
If one buys a product for Tk7 from a local grocery and gives a Tk10 bill, the shopkeeper would inevitably give him a Tk2 note and a Tk1 candy in return. His reason is the same as the bus conductor.
Even about a year or so ago, small vendors could be seen selling coins in small sacks in the capital’s Mirpur, Farmgate, Gulistan and Motijheel areas. Their main customers were the bus conductors.
However, these “coin sellers” are hardly seen these days.
Jasimu Uddin, the conductor of a bus that runs on the Banani-Motijheel route, told the Dhaka Tribune: “There was a time when our pockets used to overflow with coins. Now you see, I do not have a single coin in my pockets. When we go to the banks, they say they do not have them.”
Md Saiful Islam Khan, a director general of the Bangladesh Bank, said: “We have sufficient coins in stock and can entertain demands of any amount... We have seen in our investigation of banks that they need separate counters for dealing with coins. But, because the commercial banks have limited space and manpower, they are reluctant to exchange coins.”
Sources said at present, the central bank has a stock of 4.47 crore Tk1 coins. The bank has plans to release 15 crore more by the end of June.
The central bank has approved a number of branches of three state-owned and six private banks for selling coins.
But sources say because these branches do not have enough space in their vaults, they cannot store enough at once.
An official of the Gulshan branch of the Standard Bank told this correspondent: “We have boxes full of coins. But nobody wants them.”
Economists say common people are used to getting change in return when they shop or ride a bus. That is why they do not go to banks to collect coins.
The Dhaka Tribune has learnt that a syndicate of “coin collectors,” who allegedly amass the coins from bus conductors and grocery shops, are smuggling them through the western districts such as Kushtia, Meherpur, Jhenaidah and Chuadanga.
Hebul Mia, a resident of the Harimpur village in Meherpur near the Indian border, said: “A lot of coins have been smuggled through this area in the last one and a half years. The old Tk1 coins, which are made of copper and are golden in colour, are in high demand.”
However, he could not explain what was done with the smuggled coins.
Economist Anu Muhammad said: “If coins have any value other than their monetary value, then there is a chance that they may be used for unusual purposes.”
Others said another reason could be the reduced number of “counter bus services” in the city.
Khandakar Enayetullah, secretary general of a bus owners’ association, said: “Getting the coins and keeping them – both involve lots of hassle. That is why the conductors say they do not have change.”
