Cyclone Gaja uproots 3,000 trees planted by green activist Thangasamy on 30 acres

An active campaigner for the green cause, Thangasamy planted lakhs of saplings across the State, including several thousand trees on his own land.
Kannan, son of ‘Maram’ Thangasamy, near the trees planted during the demise of Indhira Gandhi and MGR, at Senthangudi in Pudukkottai | M Muthu Kannan
Kannan, son of ‘Maram’ Thangasamy, near the trees planted during the demise of Indhira Gandhi and MGR, at Senthangudi in Pudukkottai | M Muthu Kannan

PUDUKKOTTAI: Nearly 70 per cent of the trees that late green activist Maram Thangasamy nurtured on 30 acres in Senthangudi village have been devoured by cyclone Gaja. His son Kannan estimated not less than 3,000 trees were felled by the massive storm. An active campaigner for the green cause, Thangasamy planted lakhs of saplings across the State, including several thousand trees on his own land. Thangasamy, who passed away on September 16 at the age of 81, used to plant saplings to mark significant occasions since the 1960s.

He planted 10 jackfruit saplings when former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, 100 teak saplings when former Chief Minister MGR died in 1987,  and 10 sandalwood trees to mark the birth centenary year of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1988. Whenever he had guests at home, he gave them saplings and asked them to plant that on his land. He used to present saplings to couples whenever he attended weddings and made sure they planted them in front of his eyes.

He kept a neatly maintained ledger with clear tabular columns showing dates of planting, the significance of those days and the varieties of saplings planted. The register was started on June 11, 1967 and updated to the last days of his life. Kannan said, “After the cyclone, I went to check our land and found most of the trees were uprooted. We could not cut and remove them as it would require a lot of effort.” 

Thangasamy also planted saplings at almost all government office premises in Pudukkottai district and ensured their safe growth. Even these trees have been wiped out by the cyclone. Kannan’s wife Tamilarasi said, “Had my father-in-law been alive now, he would have died of shock after seeing the devastation caused by the cyclone to his trees.”

To restore the lost greenery in the four districts affected by the cyclone, Kannan said the government should provide a variety of saplings to the people. “The agriculture and forest departments should first assist farmers in removing fallen trees and distribute free saplings of fast-growing varieties. Coconut saplings should be given to coconut growers along with other assistance,” he said.

He said, “The price of lumber should drop tremendously as lakhs of trees were uprooted in the cyclone. The government can market the lumber in other States or countries. The wood of trees like rosewood, 
sandalwood, teak and tamarind in the affected districts are of export quality.”

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