A mysterious coin shortage gripping the eastern Indian city of Kolkata has shopkeepers begging for change from beggars and buying coins at prices above their face value.

No one knows exactly why there is no change in Kolkata or why the dearth has affected only this city of 14 million, but it has spurred the Reserve Bank of India to emergency measures, distributing millions of coins to try to satisfy the demand. Since the coin shortage became acute at the beginning of June, the bank has distributed nearly Rs5 million (Dh453,221) worth of coins, including one million on Thursday alone, said Nilanjan Saha, the bank's treasurer in the city. But the emergency supplies have failed to stem the demand. Some 2,000 people stood in two lines on a recent day at the bank to exchange currency notes for coins, many planning to resell them for a profit.One woman, who asked not to be named, set up shop outside the bank selling packets of Rs100 coins for Rs120.