TIRUPPUR: District farmers have been demanding relief for their coconut trees affected by the recent drought. Officials from the Horticulture and Plantation of Crops department have also started a survey to identify the number of affected trees.
M Easwaran, district president of Katchi Sarbatra Thamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam said, “Before the current summer rain, the state experienced intense heat which led to water scarcity and the farmers who cultivated coconut trees were the most affected. In Tiruppur alone 15,000 trees dried up. Hence, we are demanding Rs 50,000 as compensation as they were in good fruiting condition. We are also demanding a compensation of Rs 35,000 for other trees and Rs 15,000 for young trees. However, no action has been taken by the government so far.”
He further said, “In addition, there are 10,000 pest-infected trees in the district and the government announced a relief of Rs 14 crore to Coimbatore farmers. However, nothing for the Tiruppur farmers. We welcome the announcement of relief for the Coimbatore farmers but at the same time the government should also consider the farmers of other districts too.”
M Jeevanantham, a farmer of Palladam said, “Some of the coconut trees in my farm that were hit by drought this summer have survived. However, it will take five years for them to get back to normal. Those particular coconut trees should be watered regularly. Even so, the coconuts on them are smaller than usual.”
Officials from the Horticulture and Plantation Crops said, “The government order to survey the drought-affected coconut trees in the district came last week. Following this, for the last two days, a block-wise survey has been conducted. At the end of the survey, we will know the number of trees that are affected and after due consideration, the government will decide on the compensation that should be provided for the affected trees.”