TIRUNELVELI
Sale of farm produces such as sugarcane, turmeric, palmyra tubers, vegetables etc. has moved to top gear in the southern districts.
As the ‘Pongal’ is fast approaching, sale of sugarcane, turmeric, vegetables and new vessels to be given as gifts to the newly married women has moved to feverish pitch here since Monday. Ignoring the COVID-19 restrictions, the people flood the market to buy it.
The Maharaja Nagar ‘Uzhavar Sandhai’ that received 40 tonnes of vegetables on Monday sold it at lightning pace. With the crowd surging the market, nearby open spaces were converted into vegetable market to mitigate the crowd.
The twin towns of Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai have started receiving sugarcane loads from Madurai, Theni, Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts and the traders from these places sell a bundle of 10 sugarcanes for Rs. 350 while the price of sugarcane bundle in Nagercoil is Rs. 550.
. “The price will increase further on Wednesday and Thursday if fresh loads are not received,” the traders say.
Harvesting of turmeric cultivated on over 100 acres in Sawyerpuram, Thangammalpuram, Sivaththaiyapuram, Sakkammalpuram and Servaikaaranmadam, which would usually supply the plant up to Delhi, has commenced. A turmeric plant, which was sold for Rs. 20 last year, is being sold now for Rs. 14. Since the farmer has to spend up to Rs. 7 for a plant and work in the field for six months to grow the plant, this selling price has not enthused the growers.
“Since the traders are skeptical about the sale of turmeric due to COVID-19 related restrictions, we received only a few buyers this year and hence we’re getting lower price this year. We expect more traders to come to our village for buying the turmeric before Thursday,” says farmer T. Kesava Selvan of Thangammalpuram.
Another problem the farmers faced this year was the short supply of Di-Ammonium-Phosphate which had to be mitigated with urea, which has affected the quality of the plant.Tenkasi district, the ‘vegetable basket’ of southern Tamil Nadu, is busy sending out several truck loads of vegetables to various destinations of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Kerala. The Kamaraj Wholesale Vegetable Market in Paavoorchathram is so vibrant as it is sending the trucks with vegetables to other markets.
