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.
