Warangal: Despite several awareness programmes by banks stating that `10 coins are legal tender and must be accepted for transactions, people in Warangal and Karimnagar districts, as with their counterparts elsewhere, remain unconvinced.
After learning that traders and the public were reluctant to accept `10 coins, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clarified that these coins were legal tender and should be accepted. The RBI directed banks to conduct widespread campaigns to raise awareness and reiterated that banks must accept `10 coins.
The State Bank of India's Warangal branch held an awareness programme under the supervision of SBI Network-I GM Ravi Kumar Varma and Network-II GM Prakash Chandra Baror.
Bank officials visited at least 10 retail outlets and small business stores each day, distributing pamphlets reaffirming the legal validity of `10 coins.
One vegetable vendor, Bhujjavva, said that while people previously refused to accept `10 coins, now they give her the same coins and insist she take them.
"From morning to evening, I make only `100 to `150. If I accept `10 coins and people refuse to take them the next day, what do I do? Why take such a risk," she asked, refusing to accept the coins.
Staff at a cinema in Hanamkonda told Deccan Chronicle that during intermission, when snacks are sold, customers often refuse to accept `10 coins as change.
Union Bank of India's Karimnagar branch also conducted an awareness campaign, carrying banners and placards in busy market areas to educate the public that `10 coins are legal tender.
