Banknote shortage in Pokhara

POKHARA, Sept 29: People have started thronging the gates of Nepal Rastra Bank in Pokhara from six in the morning for fresh banknotes, after experiencing shortage. The banknotes are widely used during the 15-day Dashain festival that began Wednesday.



Anish Jung Karki was one among the hundreds of people who had reached the central bank early Thursday morning to get some ´Dashain notes´. [break]



Finally at 10 am, when offices open, he was allowed to enter the bank premises. Yet till 11 in the morning, when Republica reached the site, he was still in the serpentine queue.



“The bank official arrived only at 10:45 in the morning,” said an infuriated Karki, who was already late for office. “The staff here are also slow hands, who take a lot of time for exchanging money.”



Hem Nath Poudel of Ratna Chowk was another such victim who was waiting in the queue from 8 in the morning. The official of Urban Development and Housing Division had also arrived at the bank early, assuming he would be able to reach the office on time. But like Karki, he was going to be late.



“If the central bank had distributed equal amount of fresh banknotes among other financial institutions, we wouldn´t have to face this trouble,” he complained.



Most of the people who were waiting to get new notes echoed similar views like Poudel´s.



Bishwa Mohan Adhikari, the CEO of City Development Bank, also blamed the central bank for complicating the note distribution process. “Because of their policy, we have to send our clients empty-handed,” he said.



But officials of the Nepal Rastra Bank do not want to take the blame, as they said the bank has been giving away certain amount of fresh notes to financial institutions on a daily basis.



Bhola Nath Baral, manager of Nepal Rastra Bank Pokhara (branch), told Republica that “Amounts ranging from Rs 200,000 to Rs 400,000 is being given away on a daily basis to financial institutions depending on their size.



The central bank has recently brought into circulation some Rs 30 billion worth of fresh banknotes, especially for Dashain, of which more than Rs 5 billion has been allocated for Pokhara. But Pokhara branch has limited the flow to prevent indiscretionary acts, according to Baral.



“People often take home more notes than needed, which are often returned after Dashain,” Baral said. “This time, we don´t want people to take undue advantage of our generosity.”

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