Launch of new train from Bodi to Chennai
MADURAI: The recently introduced Bodinayakkanur Express train service linking Madurai and Chennai has delighted the people of Theni district and the cardamom merchants, especially, were doubly happy as they largely relied on trains to transport goods.
The much-awaited service resumed after a long gap of twelve years from Bodinayakkanur, Theni district, providing a comforting relief. Many years ago, train was the preferred mode of transport for cardamom merchants from Bodinayakkanur or Bodi to cardamom selling centres in Madurai and from there to Chennai, Mumbai, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Delhi, and Kolkata as it was more cost-effective than commuting by road.
Bodi has once again become a major trading hub for cardamom known as the queen of spices and merchants from the neighbouring state of Kerala also relied facilities to get cardamom pods processed, sorted, and graded before being auctioned.
TKSM Uthayakumar, a resident of Cumbum, Theni district and president, Kerala Cardamom Growers Union told DT Next on Sunday.
In those days, Cumbum originally remained as a trade centre, where the members of Cardamom (Yelakkai) Vivasayigal Sangam marketed their produce after cleaning and grading it primarily in Bodi and at a few places in Thevaram. But since Bodi was blessed with all processing facilities such as cleaning, colour sorting, grading, and packing, and more importantly with rail connectivity, Bodi has turned out to be a major trading centre for cardamom.
Tracing the roots of successful cultivation of cardamom, a highly profitable plantation crop, Uthayakumar recalled saying it’s a long history dating back to 1822 when the Maharaja of Travancore launched a ‘Dandora campaign’ in the hilly forest region bordering Tamil Nadu and motivated the local community to take up cardamom farming along the Western Ghats. The plantation crop campaign was prompted due to a lack of manpower for farm labour.
More importantly, the Travancore Maharaja’s largesse allowed the local community in the southern fringes of Tamil Nadu bordering Kerala to transform uncultivable lands into cultivable lands. As soil and weather conditions remained conducive to growing cardamom, hilly areas in Idukki district of Kerala became favoured lands with all parameters for growing top-quality cardamom.
KSK Natesan, president, Theni District Chamber of Commerce, said a truckload of consignments that weighed about 22 tonnes costs Rs1 lakh to Rs1.25 lakh from the northern region to Bodi, but in terms of rail cargo, it would be less than half the cost.