Make them happy!
My bank kindly gives me bundles of 10 taka notes so I can have some 'change' but recently I was horrified to hear that the Bank of Bangladesh has stopped printing two taka notes!
This explains why so many two taka notes are filthy, dirty and falling apart and I wish to challenge this decision on the simple grounds of the respect due to both poor and rich in a democracy. We now have 1000 taka notes which are useless for paying salaries! (What does my driver do with one in Tongi?) But what of those who purchase their goods and services in smaller currency? It is essential for those who travel by rickshaw and wish to pay something different from a round figure.
When I lived in Haluaghat, I remember getting off the bus at Kakoli and going to the bank and asking for “New taka for Haluaghat, please!” The shopkeepers there were so thrilled to have clean notes when I got back! It is the end of the road and the currency was often dreadfully dirty. It is such a simple way of giving pleasure and dignity to ordinary people - to give them a decent currency!
At the moment, the government is being asked to make decisions on such major matters. Could it make this minor one that would bring a smile of appreciation to so many?
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