Kollam: Demonetisation ordeal has man shave off half his head

KOLLAM: Yahiya, a 70-year-old man from Kadakkal in Kollam, fed up with the demonetisation, burnt Rs 23,000 and shaved off half of his head, vowing not to grow hair until Narendra Modi gets dethroned. The man, who runs a small hotel, has made this pledge after he fainted during the ordeal of standing in a long queue before a bank to exchange invalid banknotes. His neighbour Ashraf Kadakkal, a history professor at the Kerala University, brought his fate to the world through a Facebook, and it soon went viral.

Hailing from Mukkunnam in Kadakkal, he had tried his luck in a Gulf country after he couldn’t make the two ends meet with his meagre wages from manual labour. He returned as it turned difficult for him to find a better job there and married off his two daughters by taking a loan from Kadakkal Cooperative Bank. He started RMS Fast Food and became its manager-cum-cook-cum-bearer. He also changed his dress code to the nightie while at the eatery.

“I would have been murdered for selling beef if I were in Gujarat or Madhya Pradesh. However, then came the currency ban. I went to a bank to exchange notes I had with me. I waited in a long queue for two days before I fell unconscious as my sugar level went terribly down. I was taken to a government hospital by the fellow-standers,” the post says. Yahiya also asks how long should he stand in queues to exchange the money he made by blowing fire and ashes at the restaurant. It's his vow and protest against Mr Modi who he says charred his entire wealth.