Post-Gaja: farmers, timber merchants strike a deal

Facilitated by Forest department, it has resulted in the purchase of uprooted trees

Due to the cyclone a large number of trees were uprooted in Pudukottai district.

Days after cyclone Gaja unleashed its fury devastating the coastal districts in the central region, timber merchants from different parts of the State have begun to purchase various species of trees which were uprooted in large numbers in Pudukottai district.

The tie-up between the timber merchants and the affected farmers facilitated by the State Forest Department has paid off resulting in the purchase of the uprooted trees benefiting many affected farmers across Pudukottai district.

About 3,760 tonnes of uprooted trees of various species have already been sold by the farmers to the timber merchants, a senior Forest Department official told

The Hindu on Monday. The uprooted trees which have been purchased by the timber merchants were that of tamarind, mango, casuarina, teak, neem, eucalyptus, Melia Dubia and other miscellaneous ones.

Nine timber merchants including one each from Sathyamangalam in Erode district, Tiruvannamalai and Manapparai in Tiruchi district have so far successfully struck the deal with the affected farmers purchasing uprooted tree species required by them from the latter.

A total number of 77 farmers from villages including Gandarvakottai, Thottiyapatti, Vaarappur, Mattaiyanpatti, Sothupaalai, Puravakottai, Vallathirakottai, Keezhakurichi and Keezhaiyur have benefited till now through the tie-up with the timber merchants, the official said.

Due to the cyclone, large number of trees were uprooted in the four forest ranges: Aranthangi, Ponnamaravathy, Pudukottai, Keeranur and Tirumayam. Already affected by the cyclone, the farmers faced an additional problem of removing the uprooted trees from their lands and the ways to sell them.

Realising the plight of the farmers, the Department through its network got in touch with timber merchants across the State as well as with their counterparts in other districts to help farmers in selling the uprooted trees at a decent price by facilitating a tie-up.

The initiative paid off as the Department officials gave the contact numbers of the farmers to the timber merchants and vice versa. The official said in Gandarvakottai village alone, 12 farmers were successful in striking a deal with a timber merchant of Sathyamangalam in Erode district with the latter purchasing 400 metric tonnes of Melia Dubia.

Officials of the department have asked the farmers and the timber merchants to inform them once the deal was struck.

This was being done to enable the department to give new names and numbers of affected farmers who were awaiting to sell their fallen trees.

The tie-up with the timber merchants would benefit the farmers in not only removing the uprooted trees speedily but in getting a decent price instantly for their early restoration, the official said.

Enquiries continue to pour in from various quarters expressing interest to buy the fallen trees in Pudukottai district.

Alongside this initiative, the Forest Department has received applications through its five ranges from over 2,700 farmers in the district seeking due compensation for the extent of damages to their trees including rosewood and red sanders.

The official said the Forest department’s permission was required for transportation of scheduled tree species including teak after purchase and the permission was being accorded quickly.