TIRUNELVELI: Farmers in Cheranmahadevi taluk of Tirunelveli district suffered severe losses after a sudden heavy downpour and gale-force winds destroyed as many as 60,000 banana trees, a majority of them were ripe for harvest, on Friday night.
A press note from the collectorate the following day corroborated the damage to the banana plantations in the taluk. The affected farmers have urged the state to provide compensation for the crop damage.
Tirunelveli Collector R Sukumar on Saturday inspected the affected banana plantations in Kooniyoor, North Karukurichi, South Ariyanayagipuram, North Ariyanayagipuram, North Veeravanallur, Kiriammalpuram, Thirupudaimaruthoor villages in Cheranmahadevi taluk. After inspection, he directed the officials from the horticulture department and the village administration to take measures to assess the total number of banana trees destroyed and file a report soon.
N Deventhiran, a farmer from Kooniyoor, said he cultivated 1,000 banana trees, which were ready to be harvested in two more months. But the gale uprooted almost all the banana trees, he said, adding that he had spent a total of Rs 80,000 for cultivating the trees. Another farmer, N Mariappan, said around 900 of the 3,000 trees he had cultivated across three acres of land in Kooniyoor were destroyed in the gale.
