Kerala food vendor shaves half his head to protest demonetisation

November 28, 2016 19:21

A 70-year-old fast-food vendor in Kerala has decided to protest in a unique manner against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sudden move to render Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes worthless.

Yahiya, a native of Kadakkal Mukkunnam in Kerala's Kollam district, has shaved off half his head and has vowed not to grow his hair back until Modi is voted out of power.

In a Facebook post, Dr Ashraf Kadakkal, an assistant professor at University of Kerala, narrates the 70-year-old vendor's plight.

Before Prime Minister Modi announced his 'surgical strike' against black money, Yahiya said he had Rs 23,000 in cash -- all in the form of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

He didn't know what to do with the demonetised notes.

"I tried my best to get it exchanged from nearby banks, stood in queues for two days," he said, recounting his ordeal. "On the second day, blood sugar level dropped and I almost collapsed."

Yahiya only has a loan account at a co-operative bank. "Since all transactions at co-operative banks were frozen, I realised I cannot get it deposited anywhere," he explained.

After the 70-year-old returned home from the hospital, he lit his choolah and burnt the entire Rs 23,000 in it.

He then went to a nearby barber shop and had the hair on half his head shaved off.

"I vow to grow it back only when Prime Minister Modiji, the man who, in a jiffy, burnt all my hard work and savings into ashes, is voted out of power and this country is saved," the semi-tonsured food vendor then proclaimed.

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