NAGAPATTINAM: A day after Gaja tore its way across Nagapattinam, people woke up to grim reality on Saturday. There was damage all around to crop and property as the cyclonic storm devoured Vedaranyam, a predominantly fishing settlement south of Nagapattinam. Numbed, people did not have alternatives. Even as the district administration worked at full steam to mitigate suffering, shopkeepers downed shutters to show solidarity with the victims of the cyclone.
It is a situation people of Nagapattinam find themselves in almost on a regular basis. Two years ago, farmers were affected by drought and suffered crop loss. This time, it is even worse. They have lost not just crop but also property. Ripe grains of ready-to-harvest Kuruvai crops (short term crop) in several hundreds of hectares across the Nagai district were beaten to the ground. Samba crops were not spared either.
Standing paddy crops in villages that were in the path of the storm were consumed by the fury. Several farmers were heart-broken as they had taken equipment on rent and readying for harvest, but the cyclone flattened the crops and shattered their hopes. Even the sturdy equipment did not stand a chance against the gale force and were seen toppled in the fields at many places. Four-month effort of nurturing crops turned into nothing in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.
R Ranjith had a forlorn look and was distraught. He was expecting a bumper harvest and had drawn up plans for a better life. It was not to be. The gale blew his tractor away and with it his dream. The farmer from Ettukudi village spoke with a heavy heart, recalling the horror of Thursday night. “Six members of our family raised the crops all by ourselves, without engaging workers in order to reduce expenditure. I took Rs 25,000 crop loan to raise these crops. Only four days ago I engaged workers for manual harvesting and spent Rs 15,000.”
On Thursday evening, Ranjith and his family loaded the harvested grains on a tractor to take them home. It was when wind and rain started. Ranjith covered the paddy with a tarpaulin and waited for a while, but the wind was so strong that he could not move the tractor. Leaving the goods there, he went home. When he returned on Friday morning the trailer had turned turtle and grains spilled on the ground. What’s more, almost half of the paddy was gone. Ranjith’s eyes welled up with tears and his voice cracked as he narrated this. “We collected the remaining grains and are now drying them under the sun.”
Somu Elango of Thalaignayiru shares a similar story. He too is looking at the horizon for an answer. Some dream to cling on to. “The cyclone spoiled almost all of the late Kuruvai crops. The standing samba crops that are around 90 days old are also facing risk,” he worried.
M Ganesan, Thirukkuvalai
I raised crops in three acres and was hoping to harvest it in one month, but the cyclone flattened the crops. I was also expecting crop loan from the cooperative society, but I will not get it hereafter
M Lakshmikanthan, Alangudi
Harvested Kuruvai crops kept at my house were blown away and the rain drenched the grains. Some were also blown away in the strong winds. We could gather only the rest of the grains
Vishwanathan, Pazhayatrankarai
During the drought in the previous years, only crops were lost. Now, due to Cyclone Gaja,
we have lost both houses and our crops