PUDUKOTTAI: While boasting the presence of over 250 nurseries that serve a clientele ranging from the forest department to wedding planners, the 300-odd families in Kallukkudiyeruppu of the district who are into the cottage industry urge the state government to provide them with free electricity supply like that given to farmers to sustain their trade. Utilising their own space as little as 10 cents, the villagers raise over a 100 varieties of tree saplings, including jackfruit, redwood and sandalwood, annually and sell them for prices that are low as Rs 3 apiece.
C Kamatchi, who runs a nursery in the village, said, “With the help of then Pudukkottai collector Shambhu Kallolikar, the village in early 2000s got its first borewell to help water the saplings. Loans were also distributed through women self-help groups to sustain the trade.”
Touching upon their trade, Kamatchi said, "To water 10 cents of tree saplings, we need 2,000 litres of water and the motor has to run for at least 45 minutes a day. Particularly in a dry area like ours the power charges will go up to Rs 5,000 a month during summer. Otherwise we get charged about Rs 3,500 per month. The rains in the last two months brought down the bill to about Rs 2,000 a month."
Pointing out other costs involved like that for labour and procurement of pesticides, K Chidambara Pandian, who is also into raising nurseries, said, "We don’t earn a huge amount from this but it leaves us debt-free. For weddings, we sell around 1,000 saplings for a total of Rs 5,000. Redwood tree saplings are sold from Rs 3 to Rs 100. They are mostly procured by the forest department. We spend huge amounts on electricity only. If the government provides us with free electricity replacing the current module, our trade would survive." When enquired, Tangedco sources said such requests by those raising the nurseries must be processed by the district collector.