Rp 20 trillion cashed out on holidays: bureau

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) has calculated that more than Rp 20 trillion (US$2.14 billion) has been cashed out during the Idul Fitri holidays.

Rusman Heriawan, the bureau's head, said Thursday that there had been a very high circulation of cash money over the last six days.

"I calculated that there has been an incredible amount of cash money moving to the rural areas," he said as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com.

Rusman said around 14 million people went to their hometowns for the holiday, and if each person carried Rp 1 million in cash with them it would have totaled Rp 14 trilllion.

In September, the government also distributed Rp 7.6 trillion in direct cash aid program to 19 million people.

"Furthermore, homebound travelers prefer cash money. Bank Indonesia (the central bank) barely meets the demand," he said. (dre)