MADURAI: The Union Budget announcement to set up a Multipurpose Seaweed Park in Tamil Nadu has come in for praise from agar industries in southern districts of the State. The industries are dependent on the seaweed harvested from the Gulf of Mannar region in Rameswaram.
About 20-25 agar industries that run businesses in Madurai district for over 35 years – in areas such as Austinpatti, Silaiman and Moonandipatti – have survived the test of time, with some of them on the brink of closure due to persistent losses in business.
Agar, also known as agar agar, is a jelly-like edible substance obtained from algae and possesses excellent thickening or gelling properties. Food-grade agar is used in the preparation of jellies, dairy products such as yogurt and confectioneries. Pharmaceutical-grade agar is used as tissue culture media during research involving growth of micro-organisms, in the fields of genetic engineering and biotechnology and dentistry.
A Bose Ramachandran, the president of Agar and Alginate Manufacturers Welfare Association, welcomed the move calling it a boost to the dying industry. “Through the park, seaweed farming would be taken up on a large scale, paving way for export potentials. It is likely that the seaweed park would also introduce agar industry to advanced and cost-effective technologies,” he noted.
V Ayyappan, the secretary of the Association, told that the move would ensure alternative livelihood to Rameswaram fisherfolk, generating income when the catch from sea is unfavourable.M Lakshmi (50) from Chinna Palam in Ramanathapuram district, who has been harvesting wild seaweeds for more than four decades, hopes that the procurement price of seaweed will be regulated, eliminating middlemen who, she said, keep them in the dark on the market prices and buy for a paltry amount.