SANGAREDDY: The demand for groceries at M. Lakshminarayana Kirana Stores in the old town has fallen drastically with labourer not coming to shop who consists as major buyers. “While 10 per cent buyers are using credit cards 10 per cent are seeking credit. Labour who buy ever day grocery are not coming at all,” says shopkeeper Aravind.
Mohd. Shafi is running a puncture repair shop, which also sells reconditioned tyres, on the by-pass road in the district headquarters. For the past two weeks the business not only slowed down but also the customers were telling that they would pay later as they did not have change with them.
“We know these customers and they are regulars. We cannot afford to lose them just because of non-availability of change. We have to offer them credit. Not only is that, those who used to pay cash regularly also not paying due to same problem. We in turn are getting goods on credit from wholesale market,” says Mr. Shafi.
For Raju, a grocery shop owner in the town, the business is as usual but the credit demand has increased considerably. “I have some 200 regular customers. They used to pay even in the middle of the month if the amount was even two or three hundred rupees. Now they are saying that they would pay after getting wages in the first week instead of paying small amounts,” says Raju.
Hoarding change
Many people are preferring to hold on to the change they are getting after paying with the Rs. 2000 note. “I am having some Rs. 3,000 in Rs. 100 notes. But I am not ready to use it to pay at the grocery shop. I told the shopkeeper that I will pay after two weeks after getting wages. Hope that the situation will ease by that time with more currency in circulation,” said Shyamsunder Reddy, a resident of the town.
Labourers in many places are facing serious problems with their employers paying wages in old currency. “The farmer who has hired us to pluck cotton on his farm insists on paying with old currency notes saying that banks are not giving new notes. What can we do?” asks Jonnagiri Harish, who migrated from Kurnool district in AP for work. They were getting groceries from a local shop on the recommendation of their employer.
