Kannur: Is there anyone who benefited from demonetisation? This is one of  the posts seen on social media on the fifth anniversary of demonetisation.

The answer to this question lies in Kannur. Even today truckloads of demonetised currency notes arrive from Reserve Bank of India  at the Western India Plywoods in Valapattanam, Kannur, for manufacturing hardboards, softboards and pressboards. 

More than 11 percent boards here are manufactured utilising the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes which were demonetised on November 8, 2016.

The process

The first load of mangled currency notes arrived at Western India Plywoods within weeks of the announcement made on demonetisation. The currency notes  are cut into small bits, squeezed, mashed up and mangled before being sent Western India  Plywoods.

The torn currency notes are then boiled at 280-degree Centigrade heat, ground and used for manufacturing  hardboards. Four loads of 15 tonne  demonetised currency notes each arrive at Western India  Plywood every month from the Thiruvananthapuram regional office of the Reserve Bank of India.

Western India Plywoods chairman P K Mahin said that the quality of the boards had enhanced ever since they started mixing currency notes in the pulp being used for manufacturing  boards. Boards are being exported to Malaysia and South Africa from this unit.

It was on the request of  RBI that the  research and development wing  of the Western Union Plywoods found that the demonetised currency notes can be used for manufacturing boards. Initially they paid Rs 128 per tonne. Now it is being supplied free of cost.