Dollar crisis hits Rajshahi banks hard
Our Correspondent | Sunday, 31 August 2008
RAJSHAHI, Aug 30: Banks in Rajshahi for about a month is facing an acute shortage of dollar.
Unsafe transport system and closure of the system of endorsements by the money changers have been identified as the main causes of this dollar crisis. Thousands of people of Rajshahi region willing to go abroad are facing untold troubles due to this dollar crisis.
Sources said, tourists and patients willing to go to India used to endorse money from 13 money changers in the northern region including four in Rajshahi, but, recently the Indian embassy made a rule that it would not accept any dollar issued from any money changer instead of banks. For this reason, people willing to go abroad were rushing to the banks where the limited supply of dollar was causing a crisis.
People willing to go abroad were running from one bank to another but returning empty handed. They were facing immense troubles. There had been complaints that the banks were harassing the people taking advantage of the dollar crisis.
M. Akther Hossain, a victim of dollar crisis said, he went to the Rajshahi branch of Prime Bank in search of dollar last Wednesday but one bank official said, if he wanted any dollar, he would need to open a bank account.
When M. Akther Hossain said, he would endorse the dollars in his passport, the official told him that he needed a recommendation from an account holder of the bank. The next day, he went to the bank with an account holder but the official reported that there was no dollar left in the bank.
On the other hand, the patients who need to go India for treatment are facing relentless problems. Many are forced to spend a huge amount of extra money for endorsing dollars from Dhaka.
Unsafe transport system and closure of the system of endorsements by the money changers have been identified as the main causes of this dollar crisis. Thousands of people of Rajshahi region willing to go abroad are facing untold troubles due to this dollar crisis.
Sources said, tourists and patients willing to go to India used to endorse money from 13 money changers in the northern region including four in Rajshahi, but, recently the Indian embassy made a rule that it would not accept any dollar issued from any money changer instead of banks. For this reason, people willing to go abroad were rushing to the banks where the limited supply of dollar was causing a crisis.
People willing to go abroad were running from one bank to another but returning empty handed. They were facing immense troubles. There had been complaints that the banks were harassing the people taking advantage of the dollar crisis.
M. Akther Hossain, a victim of dollar crisis said, he went to the Rajshahi branch of Prime Bank in search of dollar last Wednesday but one bank official said, if he wanted any dollar, he would need to open a bank account.
When M. Akther Hossain said, he would endorse the dollars in his passport, the official told him that he needed a recommendation from an account holder of the bank. The next day, he went to the bank with an account holder but the official reported that there was no dollar left in the bank.
On the other hand, the patients who need to go India for treatment are facing relentless problems. Many are forced to spend a huge amount of extra money for endorsing dollars from Dhaka.