Making a living out of soiled currency notes
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Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 01: Torn currency notes of every denomination in the possession of the people in the State were considered no better than bits of papers in the trash-bin.

But today, there is value and use for these bits of papers so much so that collecting torn currency notes has become a proliferating business for some enterprising people.

Of late, the number of people getting into this business has also been on the rise and even some Government employees have cashed in on this money spinning business of collecting torn currency notes in their spare time.

An enterprising man dealing with torn notes

The methodology of this business is simple enough.

After collecting these torn currency notes from the people, the same are handed over to the banks which accept them for conversion into fresh and crispy notes, thus earning some percentage of the money through such transactions.

Although the business of collecting torn currency notes and living on the profit earned from conversion has been in vogue for a long time in other parts of the country, its popularity in the State is of recent origin.

Some 10 years earlier, we used to see only a couple of people doing this business on the busy streets of Imphal.

But today there are more than 10 of them doing brisk business in Imphal area itself.

They can be seen sitting under the shade of umbrellas at Paona Bazar, Thangal Bazar, BT Road, Kasturi Bridge with a signboard reading 'Peisa Segaiba Loujari' ( Torn current notes accepted here).

People come to them to exchange their torn currency notes, of course, they have to surrender some amount of the monetary value of the money to be exchanged as premium fee.

Although this profession has not been cashed in on by the people in the hill areas of the State, looking at the number of people taking up this profession successfully in the busy market places of all the valley districts, we can safely assume that it is here to stay for long.

Interacting with The Sangai Express, Elangbam Tombi, who has been in this business for the last 10 years, informed that he took up the business after being sponsored by a license holder of the RBI.

All the torn currency notes collected by him are handed over to the RBI license holder who in turn does the job of converting them into crispy notes from the RBI.

The percentage of the amount received through the process is again shared between them, Tombi informed, adding that around Rs 600 to 700 can be easily earned in a day through this business.

To a question on the nature of his job, Tombi explained that torn currency notes are accepted from the people for exchanging with fresh notes at the rate of surrendering value of about 50 to 60 percent of the actual monetary amount.

The torn currency notes, thus, collected are again collected from them by the license holders of the RBI who pay them about 70 to 75 percent of the monetary value.

However, there are certain conditions which need to be fulfilled for such monetary transaction.

For example the serial number of the currency notes printed should not be torn away (either the first three digits or the last three digits) should not be torn away and the torn notes should be properly pasted with gum.

Otherwise the RBI license holders do not accept them.

There has been no facility for conversion of torn currency notes collected from the people in the banks operating in the State so far.

The transaction/conversion has to be dealt directly with the Reserve Bank of India only through License Holders of the RBI.

At present it is said that there are three RBI license holders who are engaged in the job in the State.

However, all three of them are non-local people.

Talking to The Sangai Express on condition of anonymity, a Government employee who has plunged in this profession quite by chance but now taking it up seriously in his spare time to earn some extra income of the family, said this business is becoming popular mainly due to the fact that common people find difficulties in going to the bank to exchange their torn notes.

Those who are engage in the business has been helping the common people in converting their torn money.

So what we are doing is a kind of social service, he quipped.

He said that being a Government employee, he has not been able to devote full time in this profession.

Yet on holidays and other spare time, he gets down to dealing with torn currency notes and earned a profit of about Rs 500 to 600 in a day easily.