Ahead of Pongal harvest, pest attack destroys 200 acres of paddy crops in Ponneri village

CHENNAI: It's turning out to be a bleak Pongal for over 50 paddy farmers in Sirulapakkam village in Tiruvallur’s Ponneri as they reel under severe crop loss following a pest attack, said a Daily Thanthi report.

The farmers had cultivated Samba Ponni paddy in around 200 acres of land, expecting a good harvest thanks to the active northeast monsoon spell. Then began the series of unfortunate events: first, the heavy rains brought by the Fengal cyclone. After the weather system crossed the shore, there were more showers which flooded their agricultural fields, leading to the paddy plants getting submerged.

Then as the floodwaters started draining from their fields, the ryots began awaiting harvest in 20 days, in the hope of a bounty this Pongal. Unfortunately, blight disease caused some of the paddy crops to wither away while a pest attack weakened and destroyed the other crops, The farmers, some of whom were forced to pawn their wives’ jewels and take loans to spend upto Rs 30,000 per acre, were left heartbroken upon seeing the paddy plants fall and rot away.

The affected farmers of Ponneri have appealed to the state government to provide adequate compensation to help them recover from the huge loss.