Provide relief to coconut farmers, Anbumani Ramadoss urges Tamil Nadu govt

CHENNAI: Pointing out that coconut trees in Coimbatore and Tiruppur are wilting without sufficient water and high temperature, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss urged the state government to provide relief to the farmers.

In a statement, Anbumani said around 2.5 crore trees are affected in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts alone.

"Farmers could not save the trees despite spending thousands of rupees. It is condemnable that the government has failed to take measures. Coconuts are grown in 4 lakh acres of land in the two districts, " he said.

He added that farmers are buying tanker water to save the trees as irrigation tanks and ground water went too deep. Farmers should use 40 litres of water per tree per day and this would cost Rs. 10 to Rs. 13 per day per tree.

"If a farmer has 1,000 trees, he should spend Rs. 4.5 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh per month for water. This is not feasible for the majority of the farmers. Due to this, several trees could not be saved. Farmers can get Rs. 3,000 per tree if they chop and sell. As trees are weakened due to drought, no one comes forward to buy the trees. Farmers in Cauvery irrigated districts also face similar issues, " he pointed out.

Saying that several farmers could join central government's crop insurance scheme due to some conditions, Anbumani noted that farmers availed loans to maintain the trees.

"The government should provide Rs. 10,000 per tree to the farmers as relief and take measures to prevent such incidents in the future by implementing water management projects, " he urged.