KUTTAMPUZHA : Shockwaves from demonetisation may have rocked most places in the country but for the 265 families living in the tribal settlement of Kuttampuzha in Ernakulam district, it was something that happened in a faraway land. The day after Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes were pulled last year, Alli, the Kaanikkaran (tribal leader) of Kuttampuzha, handed out a big note at the ration shop and received his groceries as usual. It’s never been different, not before, not after, not now.
Kuttampuzha has 1,000 people scattered over Kunjippara, Variyam, Thalavachapra and Thera tribal colonies. There are two grocers, one tea shop and the ration shop. It’s not a place of big savings. The men earn their living from labour and the women depend on MNREGS work and bamboo weaving.Barter is the bedrock of this economy. The people make bamboo mats and rubber sheets from materials gathered from the forest and deposit them at the two groceries where there’s an account book. The grocer adjusts the vilagers’ earnings against the essential they buy.
So mention of demonetisation sucks up no bad memories here; the changes made to the ration system by LDF govt do. Earlier, each family would receive 35 kg of rice from the ration shop but that’s been cut down to 27 kg. To fill the gap, the govt threw in 7 kg of wheat, a grain that’s not staple here. The 1 kg of sugar that used to be given has been scrapped. In sum, the tribals have to buy rice at a higher price from the grocers.