Assam’s leading trade and commerce body on Thursday hailed the Centre’s demonetisation move but said that it led to 25 per cent trade loss in Assam and the North-East in the last few days.
President of trade body, Federation of Industry & Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER), Pabira Buragohain said this on Thursday and appealed to the State and Central Government to take effective measures so that the problems of the common man are reduced and small traders do not suffer much.
“We hail the demonetisation move but necessary follow up has to be done by the Centre so that there are no lapses. Small time traders, mostly in the unorganised sector have been hit by the move, but this is a temporary phase. It is a bold step by the Centre but the follow up has to be done,” he said.
“This move to withdraw high-denomination notes is expected to dent immediate consumption, especially of high-end goods, but will have a positive impact on growth and inflation in the long run. Sectors with a sizeable magnitude of cash transactions are expected to get adversely affected. The Government must devise effective measures to reduce the problem being faced by the common man,” he said adding that FINER would submit a memorandum to the State Government in this regard.
“Whenever a new system takes birth, it creates temporary inconvenience. However, subsequently it shall prove to be beneficial for the medium and long term for the country. In the North Eastern Region, the stake holders in the construction, tea and micro-finance sectors are among the worst hit by the demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes,” he said.
“The micro-finance sector where a majority of the repayments are done in cash, mostly in denomination of Rs1,000 and Rs500 notes has been hit as well, but we see these as short term hiccoughs. On the whole we feel demonetisation is a very good move.
“The thought and intent behind it is very good. This is not just the only thing that we are seeing, and we may expect more such measures in the future,” he said.