TENKASI: Sunflower farmers in Sundarapandiapuram and Sambavar Vadakarai villages are receiving an influx of tourists from Kerala, much higher than previous years. The roads leading to the villages face traffic jams as many tourists park their vehicles on the roadside to take selfies and photos by stepping into the fields.
“On Sunday alone, around 1,500 people from Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram visited the field,” said a woman farmer. In order to keep the flowers in good condition, farmers collect Rs 20 to Rs 50 from each tourist and have placed a cardboard sheet with a warning which says that a fine of Rs 200 will be charged for damage of property.
Speaking to TNIE, Velladurai, a sunflower farmer from Sundarapandiapuram said allowing tourists into the fields is causing damage to the crops. “The tourists mostly visit our fields on weekends. In total, we get around Rs 500 to Rs 1,200 per day from the tourists.
Some of them pluck the flowers without our knowledge,” he said. In addition, the farmers were seen selling their produce, especially vegetables, to the visitors directly. An agriculture official, on the request of anonymity, said the State government could begin ‘farm tourism’ in Shengottai block and provide boat rides in Kambali and Sambavarvadakarai tanks to generate revenue from the tourists. Rathish, a software engineer from Thiruvananthapuram, said most people from Kerala came to know about the sunflower fields through newspapers and YouTube channels.