They stopped accepting the national currency after traders on the other side of the border, India, refused to accept Nepali rupee and also the banks and money changers failed to issue enough Indian currency (IC).
Like many other bordering markets, IC has been widely used in Dodhara and Chandani village development committees. But this is the first time traders have stopped trading in Nepali rupee and deal only in IC.
Even retailers have made it mandatory for locals to pay in IC and they do not sell goods if buyers offer to pay in Nepali rupee.
“We have started dealing only in IC because of the Indian traders,” said Bal Bahadur Sunar, a retailer at Babathan, Dodhara.
Traders in Dodhara completely depend on supplies from India for local sales.
“The Indian suppliers have stopped accepting Nepali rupee and banks and money changers here are also not issuing enough IC needed for the trade,” said Sunar, elaborating the reasons for dealing in IC only.
According to an estimate, residents of Dodhara and Chandani procure commodities worth Rs 1 million from India everyday. Because of the absence of money changers in Dodhara, IC was being used in wide scale.
“We have to travel to Mahendranagar to exchange currency. And since it is inconvenient to travel to Mahendrangar for small exchange, people always preferred to deal in IC,” said Gopal Ghimire, a trader.
While people always carried IC widely for regular use, the new practice of trading in IC alone has completely displaced Nepali rupee. “People do not carry Nepali currency these days,” stated Ghimire.
Local said high dependency on India for fulfilling all types of essential and luxury items and the absence of money exchange facility in the areas were the major reasons behind the present situation.
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