Janakpurdham, February 14

A huge amount of Nepali currency has piled up in the Indian market near the border due to the Madhes agitation that halted all business-related activities for months.

Though there is no official devaluation of the currency against the Indian currency so far, in practice, up to a flat 12 rupees margin in 100 rupees is kept while exchanging currency.

As per the estimation of officials in Nepal, the amount of Nepali currency staying idle in the Indian market could run into tens of millions of rupees.

“Though we don’t know for sure how much money is stocked up in the Indian market now, Nepali currency has suffered devaluation in the Indian market given the short supply of Indian currency,” said Nepal Rastra Bank Janakpur Manager Mukund Mahat.

“As there is no authorised exchange counter for the Nepali currency in the Indian market near the border, it’s natural that Nepali currency has piled up here due to the prolonged Madhes agitation,” said entrepreneur Anil Barauliya, general secretary of Jayanagar Chamber of Commerce of Madhubani.

Barauliya added, “Nepali currency worth 10 million rupees might have been stocked up in Jayanagar alone.”

Meanwhile, the provision to mandatorily reveal the source of the money for anyone carrying more than one million rupees Nepali currency has worsened the problem. Just last month, an Indian national was held with over five million rupees in the bordering area of Nepal.

Inland Revenue Office of Janakpur has filed a case against the arrested man at the district court of Dhanusha for further action.

Further, entrepreneurs have pointed out the danger of further devaluation of Nepali currency in the Indian market if steps are not taken to ease the over accumulation of Nepali currency in the Indian market.