TAXILA, Oct 11: Fake currency notes of Rs100, 500 and 1,000 have flooded various markets and bazaars in Taxila after Eid and their number is increasing day by day, market sources said. Complaints about circulation of Rs5,000 fake currency notes are also being received.

Seeking massive crackdown on the fake currency notes dealers’ mafia the residents as well business community of the city said a large quantity of fake notes were printed in Afghanistan and introduced in the tribal areas. They said several complaints had been lodged with the State Bank in this regard. Some bank officials have also confirmed these reports.

They said innocent people could easily be deceived by these notes, while the government is paying no heed to this serious issue. However, some social circles have demanded of the government to work towards the eradication of fake currency notes and arrest the culprits.

The fake notes are made of very fine quality paper and printing material making it difficult for people to distinguish. Some private banks use automatic counting machines that too cannot differentiate between real and fake notes. Moreover, not every cashier in a bank is trained to identify fake notes.

In this connection, banks have advised the general public to properly check currency notes. According to bank officials a genuine note of Rs500 or Rs1000 contains a very fine stripe, on which "State Bank of Pakistan" is printed. The manufacturers of the bogus currency notes may copy other features of the genuine note, but it is impossible for them to put that fine printed stripe on fake notes.

WHEAT SMUGGLING: Taxila Police foiled bid to smuggle 555 bags of wheat from Punjab to NWFP and impounded three trucks. Police sources said on a tip off a Police party intercepted three trucks on Hattar road and during checking recovered 555 bags of wheat being smuggled to NWFP. Police arrested truck drivers Abbass, Zahid and Ayaz and registered a case against them under food act.