Sitting behind the glass counter, at his 10-foot by 15-foot shop, located on the way to Petrapole land port, 30-year-old Achintya Mondol rued that business has been “zero” since Monday. He also feared that Bangladeshi Taka, the currency with the picture of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding father on it, may be withdrawn and changed. “I have seen on television how protestors are bringing down statues of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This is a great concern for us. If they (the Bangladesh government) decide to withdraw the notes, we will have major problems,” he said.
Mondol, who works at Messers Moumita Store, is among the workers in over 100 money exchange shops or counters at the India-Bangladesh border check-post at Petrapole land port, Asia’s largest.
Showing wads of Bangladeshi taka, he said, “Each of the licensed money exchange shops here has good stock of the currency. But there are no takers now. On a normal day, I get around 60 to 70 customers. Business has been dull since protests started in Bangladesh, but from Monday there has been none.”
Mondol’s feelings were echoed by Anjan Baidya, who works at Messers Gouranga Ghosh, another money exchange shop in Petrapole. “Since Monday, I have had only one customer. On a normal day, thousands cross the border landport and we are busy. I used to get at least 80 customers per day. But now, we do not know when things will be normal,” the 32-year-old said.
“Crores of Bangladeshi Taka are there in many shops in Petrapole as well as Kolkata, both. All are facing two problems. First, there are no customers, and second, the fear of withdrawal of the currency in Bangladesh,” Baidya added.
The money exchangers convert Indian rupees to Bangladeshi Taka (current exchange rate: 70 Taka for Rs 100) and also exchange Dollars at the border for both Indians visiting Bangladesh and vice-versa. While some workers have closed their shops, rows of shops along the way — restaurants, money exchange shops, and tea stalls — have remained empty since the crisis.
Meanwhile, the movement of goods vehicles through Petrapole land port is expected to start from Thursday, after trade was paused since 3pm on Monday. “After permission from the land port authority and Border Security Force, we expect to start trade from tomorrow morning,” said Kartik Chakraborty, secretary of Petrapole Clearing Agents Staff Welfare Association.
The crisis in Bangladesh took a new turn Monday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – Rahman’s daughter – resigned amidst protests and fled to New Delhi, leaving the Bangladeshi army to take control. An interim government is to be set up under the aegis of Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and a Nobel laureate.
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