5 days ago
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Till a decennary ago, betel leaves grown from Sholavandan successful Madurai territory were exported to the USA and U.K. and among different countries. However, today, the plight of the farmers’ was miserable that astir of them are facing ‘red’ and were incapable to halt the rising losses owed to aggregate factors.
Very recently, connected a sunny day, the farmers’ successful Mannadimangalam raising betel leaves were successful for a shock. A beardown upwind accompanied by unseasonal rainfall for astir an hr wholly turned their fate. The full “kodikaal” was uprooted successful the upwind and the fields were inundated with genu heavy water. The furious quality punished them truthful overmuch that the fiscal nonaccomplishment was unbearable.
Almost 2 months person gone since the gale deed and the farmers’ are inactive waiting with a anticipation that the authorities would see giving them immoderate tangible relief, said Maranattan, a husbandman and added that officials did sojourn the tempest deed fields, but they were yet to get a favourable response.
The betel leafage cultivation is wholly antithetic from that of different accepted crops specified arsenic paddy and coconut, farmers said and that the outgo of cultivation itself would beryllium immense that they joined successful tiny groups and raised betel leaves. There volition beryllium enactment astir mundane and for the archetypal harvest, it takes astir 8 months and the 2nd harvest whitethorn beryllium done astatine the extremity of 15th period and truthful on.
If decently grown, betel leaves raised would fetch a whopping ₹15 lakh per acre for which the farmers’ collectively person to enactment for 24 to 30 months to execute the net done two-three harvests, helium said.
In Mannadimangalam alone, adjacent to 75 acres of betel leaves raised and acceptable for harvest had been washed away. “All the wealth invested and the hard labour into it is each gone waste... helium said with symptom and hoped that the authorities helped them successful this hr of crisis”.
If the woes of betel leafage farmers’ were bad, the problems faced by coconut and paddy farmers appeared worse. Sholavandan, which was erstwhile known arsenic the ‘delta region’ arsenic a bulk of them cultivated treble harvest appears deserted and disoriented. The accumulation and the productivity would beryllium precocious successful mean circumstances. The output of each and each nutrient from the artifact excessively was precise high, said Rajendran of Mettumadai.
However, things person changed for atrocious now.
With upwind not cooperating and workers’ excessively were successful shortage, the expenses had doubled. To rise immoderate harvest similar betel leaves oregon coconut oregon paddy, the outgo of accumulation had gone up that the returns were not lone meagre, but besides uncertain with unpredictable rains.
Though the officials person taken the ungraded for investigating and inspected the fields, they said that determination wouldn’t beryllium immoderate alleviation from the authorities arsenic the gale was a earthy catastrophe and rains were unseasonal. There was nary responsibility from them and that it was a earthy calamity, said Paramasivam successful Jayamangalam.
A farmer, N Ramasamy successful Sholavandan, who retired from the Department of Agriculture, said that helium has been cultivating successful his household lands successful Alankottaram for galore decades. The hailstones deed the paddy crops that nary of the farmers’ successful the neighbouring villages could flight from the loss.
Apart from the paddy, astatine slightest 4,000 lasting plantain crops acceptable for harvest were besides uprooted successful the hailstorm and galore coconut trees were damaged. In galore cases, the demolition was dense that they had to commencement afresh, helium added.
Recalling the harrowing experience, helium said, the rainfall stopped lone aft 3 days. The continuous and wide rainfall accompanied with gale sealed the destiny of the farmers successful this block. The velocity was truthful precocious that galore coconut trees excessively were damaged. It was simply unpredictable and unstoppable, helium stressed.
Loss of paddy astatine DPCs
The farmers said that the nonstop procurement oregon acquisition centres (DPC) which had purchased paddy from them were besides astatine a loss. After procuring, the nutrient which were near successful the unfastened astatine the DPCs got soaked successful the unseasonal rain.
The officials said that successful the midst of the wide election, they functioned with minimum workforce. As elder officers were tied up with the canvass work and exemplary codification of behaviour was successful force, the unit disposable were incapable to instrumentality immoderate decisions successful specified a crisis.
As a result, the paddy bags, which could not beryllium transported to the go-downs successful the adjacent vicinity owed to deficiency of space, they had gone waste, the officials admitted and added that hence outgo could not beryllium released to the farmers.
Now, the farmers’ who person been facing hardships person neither got the returns for the nutrient sold to the authorities nor they would beryllium receiving it arsenic the goods were destroyed successful the rains. Caught successful a quagmire, galore tiny and marginal farmers are nether terrible stress.
Former Additional Director (Agriculture) S Kanagaraj said that the authorities should absorption connected enhancing infrastructural facilities. For instance, the retention go-downs should beryllium built person to the DPCs. Wherever, the density of paddy cultivation was high, the TNCSC (Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation) whitethorn analyse modalities to person the facilities successful spot with due roofing which would prevention clip and wealth successful transportation.
A elder authoritative successful the Department of Agriculture successful Chennai told The Hindu that they had released Rs 290 crore arsenic compensation successful December 2025 to the farmers’ who mislaid their crops owed to gale, unseasonal rainfall from the State Disaster Response Fund. Likewise, successful the consequent rainfall too, the past CM M K Stalin had ordered a alleviation of Rs 20,000 per acre to the farmers whose crops had submerged successful the unpredicted rainfall.
Though helium was incapable to corroborate astir the alleviation for the farmers successful Madurai territory now, the authoritative said that the caller authorities has conscionable assumed office. Probably, the ryots whitethorn person to hold for a fewer much months arsenic the ministry has to guardant the connection to the Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who whitethorn person to sermon with the Finance Ministry earlier taking a last call.
The hold is going to beryllium agelong this clip excessively and the farmers’ whitethorn person to support their fingers crossed until then.
