HOW BHARAT COPES: Falling back on the forest economy
KUTTAMPUZHA: More than 10 days after the government scrapped the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, ration shop dealer Natarajan of Kallelimedu, a remote forest area in Ernakulam district of Kerala, is still accepting the old notes from the Adivasis of Kunjippara, Variyam, Thalavachapra and Thera tribal colonies in Kuttampuzha panchayat.
Natarajan said this is part of his symbiotic relationship with the tribals. “Most of these people have only old notes. To reach the bank at Kuttampuzha they have to shell out Rs 2,000 for the jeep trip. So I accept the old denominations," he says.
Most of the people here keep an ‘account’ with Natarajan. “If they don't have the money, I give them credit. They repay me whenever they get the money,” he says.
Kallelimedu has two groceries, one tea shop and a ration shop and serves as the shopping centre for 265 tribal families in the area. Demonetization hasn’t affected them at all. "Only if the crisis affects Kallelimedu do we need to worry.
We don't have big savings like city people. What we get from the forest is enough for us," said Alli, the Kaanikkaran (tribal leader), who came to know about demonetization from local jeep drivers on Nov. 9.
While the men in these tribal colonies earn their living as labourers, the women are engaged in MNREGS work and bamboo weaving. "We all have bank accounts. MNREGS credits our payment in the bank. We go to the bank once in two or three months to take out our money. We don't need large amounts to run the household here," said Anumol, a tribal woman.
But though demonetization hasn’t impacted these families, the state government's policy of categorizing ration cards as Priority and Non-priority has. “As part of the Priority and Non-priority system, the government has taken our ration cards.
So we cannot collect rice from the ration shops at the moment. We are now forced to buy rice for a higher price.
Though demonetization has not affected us, the state government's policy has hit us badly," said Kanji, an Adivasi woman and a member of the Kuttampuzha gram panchayat.