Demonetisation demon haunts GH traders

From Our Correspondent

TURA, DEC 28: Though the festive season of November and December brought some cheers to the trading community of Garo hills but the demonetization of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 have had huge impact in the Christian dominated Meghalaya.

The biggest market and commercial town of Garo hills – Tura has been hit hard this festive season. Most traders say that sale dipped to about 60 per cent compared to previous years.

Shops had stocked up essential commodities, clothes, goodies and decorations but customers remained elusive.  Most shop owners in Tura Super Market, whose sales picks up in November and December, expressed anguish over the dip in their sale.

A cloth retailer in the market said, “Our sale was very low compared to last year. Customers were coming with Rs. 2000 currency and we were not in a position to return change”.

“The liquidity crunch forced people to cut down on Christmas expenses”, said Sashi Paul, owner of Digital India, which deals in sale and services of electronic goods. He said business have been affected with a marked decrease in the footfalls.

“Customers coming out to shop are spending small amount, choosing to save money for essential expenses. The move was aimed at cracking down on the shadow economy but has brought India’s cash economy to a virtual standstill”, Paul said.

Of the 25 retailers, this correspondent visited in Tura Super Market, most of them did not have POS machine, and few who had POS said that the systems were not working, so they faced difficulty.

Mahesh Prasad Gupta, Co-partner of Kailash Ram Kedar Nath, wholesale agent, which deals in essential commodities said, “The government’s sudden move has caused huge disruption to daily life, leaving people struggling to pay for basic goods. People across the country have been braving long queues and hours of wait to withdraw money from banks and ATMs”.

Reacting on the sale, Gupta said, “Market is down as retailers and customers come with Rs. 2000 currency. Sale compared to previous years is comparatively low.”

He said there is shortage of money due to withdrawal limit in banks, which has affected their business.  Gupta said that price of pulse has been hit severely post demonetization, while price for rice and wheat has remained more of less the same.

In October, the price of kilo of Moog dal was Rs. 120, which has came down to Rs. 75 in November – December. The price of other pulse: Chana dal came down to Rs. 130 per kg from Rs. 135 per kg, Masur dal from Rs. 85 to Rs. 70.

The wholesale dealers of Tura purchase their pulse products in bulk either from Guwahati and Dhubri, while rice and wheat products from Delhi, Guwahati and Bihar.

“Most retailers leave their balance with us as we are unable to return them lower currency notes. Retailers are known so we were able to carry out our transactions. However, due to shortage and money crisis, the volume of business has come down drastically”, said Hari Gopal

Kundu of M/S Kundu Brother, who also deals in essential commodities admits that sale in November – December was as low as 50 per cent compared to last year.

Post demonetisation, the traders in Tura are applying for POS. However, there is delay as the demand for POS has increased in the town suddenly.

Kundu said that they had approached bank for lower denomination currency but they were unable to provide.

“In November – December sale picks up usually due to the festive seasons. However, this year, it was not good. The sale compared to previous years have come down by 50 per cent”, said Raj Kumar Sharma, an employee of Garo Hills Grain Traders.

The dealer has applied for POS post demonetization. “Most transaction was carried out with cheque. Shortage of money had an impact as customer flow was less this time”, Sharma added.

In October the daily sale was around 30 – 40 thousand, while in November – December, the peak seasons, the sale touched roughly about 50,000, which is lower than the average sale of 80,000 – 1 lakh of the previous year.