RAICHUR: Demonetisation has also hit sale of books at stalls set up on the premises of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) as part of the 82nd Akhila Bharath Kannada Sahitya Sammelana.
About 400 book stalls have been opened at the book fair. Literature enthusiasts are visiting the book fair in a very large number. They are flocking the stalls to purchase books of their favourite authors. Only after selecting the book, both stall owner and the buyer face the change problem.
The supply of `2,000 denomination notes and inadequate flow of new `500 notes has hit the business hard.
R Kumaraswamy, a staff of Sapna Book House, told Express that most of the people visiting the stall purchase books worth `200 and give `2,000 note.
“We have difficulty in accepting the new notes due to lack of change. For how many people will we be able to give change when there is no supply of small denomination notes? While some customers understand our problem, some don’t,” he added.
Another staff said though credit/debit card swiping machines have been installed to help customers, they are not working due to network shut down.
However, Krishna Chengli, another book stall owner, said though there is cash crunch, people are trying to buy books.
“When they select books for purchase, they are disappointed when we tell them that we don’t have change. However, most of them go back and bring exact change. That shows their interest towards reading,” he said.Meanwhile, some book stall owners complained that the Kannada Sahitya Parishat has not facilitated a separate stall for books of Baraguru Ramachandrappa, the president of literary meet.
Shyam Sundar, owner of another book stall, said there is no proper food and water supply at stalls and the staff of the stalls are facing hardship.