For Soyam Khatti, the uselessness of the Rs. 500 currency note was worth some amusement as he taunted the grocer by offering it as payment for the purchases he had made. Evidently, the Adivasi Gond from Allikhori village in Adilabad mandal, who had come to the weekly shandy at Indervelli mandal headquarters on Monday, was untouched by the ill effects of demonetisation.
“I am able to 'exchange' my cotton with groceries,” he observed revealing the secret behind his withstanding the current monetary crisis generated by the Union government’s move to ban the higher denomination currency notes. Yes, it is the good old barter system which has come in handy for Adivasis and traders in Adilabad and Kumram Bheem districts.
Cotton sale
Between November and February, the Gond and Kolam Adivasi farmers sell their produce (cotton) in small quantities of 20 kg or 30 kg to petty traders in weekly shandies held at Gudihatnoor, Ichoda, Indervelli, Narnoor, Jainoor and Kerameri. The small amounts realised through such sales are used to purchase groceries, vegetables, tea, sugar and even jowar.
Cotton is sold in larger quantities like two or three quintals towards the end of the season when the tribals need money to perform marriages. However, the Rs. 10,000 or Rs. 15,000 realised through such sale being insufficient, the petty trader chips in with his contribution during marriages too.
During the initial days of demonetisation, the aboriginal people faced considerable difficulty in selling their produce owing to severe shortage of small notes. “The best way out seemed to exchange cotton with groceries,” Indervelli kirana shop owner Santosh Chintawar, recalled the days when both sides saw a solution to the cash crunch problem.
“The amount due after adjusting the price of groceries against the value of cotton which was sold, is paid in cash. Often, these payments are made in the shape of Rs. 10 notes or even in Rs. 5 coins,” disclosed a grocer at Kerameri as he talked of the transactions.
Cashless economy
The aboriginal people may be better placed at this juncture but they do not seem to be equipped enough to deal with the inevitable cashless economy in future. The Telangana Grameena Bank, which has the largest adivasi customer base in the these districts, has about 60,000 aboriginal farmers as customers in its agency area branches.
“Not many transact through banks owing to poverty. Only a handful of us have exchanged banned currency notes in banks to date,” pointed out a thoughtful Sedmaki Gangaram, the Patel or head man of Allikhori.
