Traders, autos refuse to accept 10 coin

Madhapur: The dus ka dum is losing its sheen. Small-time traders, kirana merchants, gatekeepers at GHMC parks including the ice-creamwallah in the corner of the street are not accepting the Rs 10 coin, thanks to the rumour that fake coins are being circulated in the market.

Speaking to The Hans India, P Nithyanandan, RBI General Manager, Consumer Education and Protection, said, "We have made the public aware through an advertisement that 10 rupee coin is not banned – it is legal tender and valid. They are 14 types of Rs 10 coins. Don't know why the traders and auto drivers are not accepting the coins."

The coins are being rejected by the people ranging from small traders, GHMC parks authorities and bus, auto divers. Reason is that they are under apprehension that it is a fake currency and based on this a rumour spread that the 10 Rs coin is banned.

At various GHMC parks, the authorities are not accepting 10 rupee coins. One such incident was seen at AS Rao Nagar GHMC park. When questioned why they were not accepting it, they straightway said they were advised by higher authorities not to accept it and that they did not the reason for the same.

Umakhant, a small trader, said: "We are not accepting Rs 10 coin as we have received many fake coins; so, we stop accepting the coin." "We got information from our union leader not to accept the Rs 10," said K Mudiraj, a trader. Same was the refrain of shopkeepers and several auto, taxi drivers in the city.