TIRUNELVELI
The Communist Party of India has appealed to the State Government to bail out the plantain growers of the district, who have suffered enormous loss as gale destroyed over 25 lakh plantain crop cultivated in various parts of the district.
In a petition submitted in the Collector’s Office on Monday, CPI’s district secretary S. Kasiviswanathan said plantain, the major crop in Tirunelveli after paddy, is being grown largely in Nanguneri, Radhapuram, Valliyoor, Thirukkurunkudi, Kalakkad, Cheranmahadevi, Ambasamudram, Tenkasi, Courtallam, Shencottai, Kadayanallur, Vadakarai, Paimpozhil, Kadayanallur, Vasudevanallur, Puliyangudi and Sankarankovil.
While the agriculturists of Kalakkad region mostly cultivate the premium variety of ‘yaeththan’ meant for Kanniyakumari and Kerala consumers, growers of Shencottai area go in for ‘sevvaalai’ variety, for which there is huge market in Kanniyakumari district and also in neighbouring Kerala. Farmers of other regions cultivate a range of varieties like ‘rasakathali’, ‘karpooravalli’, ‘paeyan’, ‘monthan’, robusta, ‘poovan’ and ‘naadu’.
Though monsoon had belied, farmers of these regions, pinning their hopes on the water available in their wells, had cultivated over 25 lakh plantain crops in their own lands and also in the lands taken on lease. Farmers have spent a lot on preparing the ranch for plantain cultivation, sheep penning, buying saplings, planting, nourishing with chemical fertilizers etc. Approximately, the farmers have spent over ₹ 45,000 per acre.
While the farmers of Ambasamudram, Kallidaikurichi and Cheranmahadevi had harvested their plantains, the crops waiting for harvest within next three weeks in other regions have been destroyed by unseasonal gale that lashed the district over the past 3 weeks.
The plantain farmers of the district, who were nourishing the standing crop despite the drought-like situation now prevailing here after northeast monsoon failure and extreme heat, have been left at the mercy of the insurance firm and the official machinery as they have lost over 25 lakh crop to gale that lashed various parts of the district over the past three weeks.
When gale destroyed plantain crop in the district in 2013, the government gave ₹ 3 per damaged plantain as compensation, much to the disappointment of the affected agriculturists. While a section of the affected farmers have insured their crop properly by paying the premium and hence are hopeful of getting the insurance benefits, most of the farmers have not insured their plantain crop, who are now submitting petitions in the Department of Agriculture seeking compensation for the hefty loss they have suffered.
As the destruction caused by the gale is unprecedented and unbearable and plantain growers, who had raised the crop with the loan availed from the banks after pledging jewels, have suffered unheard of loss due to nature’s fury, the government should bail out them from this spicy situation by giving adequate compensation, the petition said.
