Goa, I’m told, is changing. One of the changes is the lack of change. On a recent visit to Goa, I found there was always a shortage of change in most stores, restaurants, and even super marts! After spending a few hundred rupees, I had to accept sweets in lieu of coins. As I’m a diabetic, getting sweets instead of change is nothing but sweet irony. Lakhs of shoppers are affected ever day, in hundreds of establishments across Goa. This is disgusting and serious. How does the government propose to solve this problem? Is this how the modern Indian mind works? We can’t expect such outlandish behaviour from a developed country.
One way to solve this problem is to make the seller or service sector responsible for returning change. If a shortage of coins exists, the seller has to take it out of his profits. Consumer forums need to wake up, zoom in on this scam immediately, and not let go until the consumer gets justice. Can development and mega projects here be successful if we cannot solve a small problem like this?
