HYDERABAD: Small change is turning out to be a big challenge for them.

As bags and bags of small change keep piling up in city RTC depots, the managers are at a loss about converting them into currency notes.

With banks being disinclined to accept small change remittances, for obvious reasons, the managers of 21 city depots have no other go but to make friends with petty vendors, businessmen, theatre managements to exchange the small coins.

Conductors manning 2,692 city buses that log 7.75 lakh km every day collect coins worth more than Rs 7 lakhs.

After the daily collection is returned at the depots, the money is again deposited in banks.

But with a huge number of coins being collected, banks are refusing to accept them, as counting them is literally an arduous task.

Daunting task

On an average, every bus depot under the city region generates Rs.35, 000 as coins of the total revenue and for 21 depots in the city; it amounts to nearly Rs 7 lakhs a day.

Usually, the bus conductors themselves try to hand over the coins to petty vendors and then remit currency notes at the depots.

Then the depot personnel also have their own contacts of theatre managements, vendors, business houses and exchange the coins again.

Even then, every depot is left with a huge number of coins every day, sources explained.

"We are left with no other choice. Banks are nowadays not accepting coins and are very reluctant to take Rs.10 bundles too.

We pay the daily allowances and other incentives to the drivers and conductors in coins.

Even after that thousands worth coins accumulate in the depots," says Executive Director of Hyderabad Zone B.Sitaram.

Fake currency

It's not coins alone but some fake currency notes too find their way into the depots.

"It is mostly in the denominations of Rs.100 and Rs.500 that fake currency is detected in our depots," says Mr.Sitaram.

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