Capital’s scrap market feels the heat of demonetisation

November 21, 2016 12:00 am | Updated December 02, 2016 04:51 pm IST - New Delhi:

Worried:Garbage collectors like Alam are a concerned lot as scrap dealers have no change to pay them for the waste plastic and metallic scrap they collect.Photo: Special Arrangement

Worried:Garbage collectors like Alam are a concerned lot as scrap dealers have no change to pay them for the waste plastic and metallic scrap they collect.Photo: Special Arrangement

The little space outside Alam’s shanty, where he would relax after a long day of collecting household waste from door-to-door, is dotted with empty plastic bottles and metallic scrap.

These heaps of plastic waste are only getting bigger with each passing day, as are the lines on Alam’s forehead. After repeatedly trying to call someone, the 20-year-old turns to his mother and says, “Phone abhi bhi band hai [the mobile phone is still switched off].”

Shutting shop

Most shops that deal in scrap near Seemapuri slums in north-east Delhi, which is where Alam lives with his family, have shut shop since Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetised the Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 currency notes.

The reason being that the scrap dealers have no change to pay for the waste plastic they buy from garbage collectors.

Caught off-guard

“The few shops that are open are buying it for half the price and forcing us to accept old notes. What do we do with these notes?” said Alam, the youngest of five siblings.

The news of demonetisation took Alam and his family by surprise. Their immediate worry was the few thousand rupees they had saved over the past few years.

A day after the announcement, Alam was among those who lined up outside a bank with Rs.10,000 in his pocket.

“There was a huge rush. Like hundreds others, I skipped work and stood in a line to exchange the old notes. My turn didn’t come. I went again the next day and waited several hours, only to be told that I couldn’t get Rs.10,000 exchanged, and that I would have to deposit the money instead. I came back empty-handed as I don’t have an account,” he said.

So demoralised were Alam and his family that they joined their neighbours in an impromptu protest.

Reality, however, dawned on Alam the next day when he required the new currency to take care of his family’s daily expenses. His family includes two differently-abled nephews.

Alam then met a bank employee, who told him that he could get Rs.4,000 exchanged at a time.

“I reached the bank with a blanket at 8 p.m. and slept in the queue with several others. Next morning, I managed to get two Rs.2,000 notes,” he said with a smile.

Short-lived joy

But his happiness was short-lived. He was in for a shock when he reached the market the next day.

“The shopkeepers refused to accept the new currency. They claimed not to have change. Ultimately, I had to buy a big sack of rice worth Rs.1,000 and get some grocery from another shop. Thankfully, I now have a few Rs.100 notes,” he said.

The few shops that are open are buying waste plastic for

half the price and forcing us to

accept the old notes

0 / 0
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