People end up with counterfeit notes as the supply of IC cannot satisfy demand in the market. Counterfeit note traders have started transactions in nearby villages in the Birgunj area for fear of being caught if they operate in the cities. [break]
Police sources informed Republica that local adolescents are being used as carriers for such notes. Parsa District Police Office on December 17 arrested Rajesh Sahani of Sripur in Birgunj with 276,490 rupees IC in counterfeit notes.
According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajendra Man Shrestha, someone from the capital was using Sahani as a carrier. "The group is active from the capital to the bordering city," Shrestha said, adding that his team was determined to stop such activities.
Police suspect that in recent days transaction in counterfeit IC notes has been higher at Pokharia, Langadi, Bhiswa and Janakitola, among other localities in Parsa District. Counterfeit IC in denominations of 100, 500 and 1,000 is seen in the market.
Entrepreneurs blame Nepal Rastra Bank´s negligence in providing IC as per the demand. They said that due to the scarcity, black marketeers are providing an alternative "second market".
Entrepreneurs are paying up to Rs 165 for IC 100. Small notices offering "IC 100 for Rs 165" are clearly visible in some places in Raxaul. One Nepali customer said, "The government is silent over the open devaluation of Nepali currency." He complained that people of the bordering area have to depend on IC for day to day activities but NRB was not providing the currency as per demand.
The shortage of IC has been a trouble for industrialists as well. IC is used to pay labor cost and transport. Omprasad Sikariya, president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Nepali currency was being devalued because of the negligence of authorities concerned. He criticized them for not providing IC 1.5 million per day, the demand in that area.
However, NRB officials claim to be supplying IC as per demand. NRB is providing IC 750,000 every day to 24 money changers in the area. According to NRB Birgunj chief Yogendra Prasad Luitel, the bank had reduced the amount issued to money changers by 50 percent.
"We are giving the remaining amount to individuals from the bank," he added. He said a Nepali citizen could take up to 2,000 IC on a weekly basis. "In case of demand we are ready to increase the amount," he said, adding that it was simply not possible to minimize the crisis by distributing IC without proper regulation.
The shortage of IC, which was available in surplus before, has hit the bordering cities hard in recent days. Strikes, lack of Indian customers in the Nepali market and stoppage of opium cultivation are major causes of the IC shortage.
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