COONOOR: Normal life in The Nilgiris was affected on Friday morning with many areas experiencing frost. A blanket of frost covered lawns and tree tops, which did not evaporate until 9 am. Assistant Director of Horticulture Radhakrishnan told TNIE, “Minimum temperature crashed to two degrees Celsius by 3 am on Friday at Government Botanical garden in Ooty. The low temperature prevailed till 5 am.
This caused frost to spread across the garden. We have been taking special care to protect the lawn and new plantings from the impending frost attack. We use sprinklers to water the lawn by 6 am so as to raise the ground temperature,” he explained. To protect the new planting, shade has been created. “We anticipate frost to set in on and off till February-end, and are taking precautionary measures to protect flora in the garden,” he noted.
With the winter turning harsh, the number of visitors to the garden has almost halved in the past fortnight.
“Against a normal tourist count of up to 4,000 daily during February, presently, we get only 1,900 visitors daily”, Radhakrishnan said.
Deputy Director of UPASI Tea Research Foundation K G Udayabhanu said up to 100 hectares of tea plantation in The Nilgiris has been affected by frost. Planter Vairavan of Erinkadu village near Coonoor said, “Nearly 10 per cent of plantation is affected by frost. We fear frosty weather will prevail for some more days which will impact yield”.