Man buys bike with Rs 1.5 lakh in coins

Nadiya (West Bengal), July 16: A beedi worker in Nadia district of West Bengal started saving coins since November, 2016 and saved coins worth Rs 1.8 lakh over the next six years. He purchased a bike with the savings.
 
46-year-old Subrata Sarkar prepares beedis and sells them to local shops. After the Central government banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in November, 2016, shop owners used to pay in coins to him due to shortage of currency notes. He started saving some of the coins for future uses. He packed the coins in covers, which have more Rs 2 coins.
 
Last month, when he was passing by a two-wheeler showroom, Subrata wondered why cannot he buy a bike with the coins. He shared his though with his 17-year-old son Shekhar. He counted the coins, which amounted to Rs 1.8 lakh. Shekhar contacted the bike dealer and told him that he will purchase bike with coins, to which the owner agreed.
 
Subrata family counted coins and packed them in five bags each containing Rs 10,000 and the remaining coins in two sack bags. On Tuesday they took the bags in a rickshaw to the showroom.
 
It took three days for the staff to count the coins. On Friday, the showroom manager Prabir Biswas handed over the bike and relevant documens to Shekhar.