#NotePeCharcha: Fishing village Kosamba in Gujarat shares its demonetisation story

While the effects of demonetisation on urban India are immediately apparent to those with access to mainstream English media, its impact on rural lives is as yet unclear. We attempted to understand why during the second leg of our trip into the country’s villages. This time we travelled north with Firstpost senior assistant editor Bindisha Sarang to Gujarat’s Himmatnagar.

She had an iPhone, a couple of mics, a GoPro and no institutional monetary support — she had borrowed money from friends and withdrawn all the cash permitted under prevalent restrictions.

She went live on Facebook when she was able to locate a reliable cell phone signal, and sent in text updates on WhatsApp. Sarang had a very loose editorial guideline with which to work — she hitched rides when necessary, interviewed as many people as were willing to talk, altered her route as circumstances dictate, and filed updates when she deemed it necessary.

Firstpost broadcast Sarang’s road trip on our Facebook page, and, now that she has returned, It is now releasing the videos in the form of a series of documentary shorts.

Her journey started in Mumbai, and her first stop was Kosamba, a tiny village few kilometers away from the famous Thitha beach, in Valsad district. With nearly 90-95 percent of this tiny village earn their income fishing and allied fishing activities. We spoke to the fishermen, fisherwomen, a former sarpanch, as well as the current sarpanch to know the impact of demonisation on the lives of the villagers.  Watch the video.