The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Fire destroys thatches trade too

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 24, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Fire destroys thatches trade too

By P.S. Suresh Kumar and C. Jaishankar

By P.S. Suresh Kumar and

C. Jaishankar

RAMANATHAPURAM, JULY 23. The impact of the Government's order asking schools and educational institutions to replace thatched roofs with non-flammable structures, following the July 16 fire in a private aided school at Kumbakonam, can be seen in rural areas, particularly some coastal villages.

Farmers, while sharing anguish at the tragedy which claimed the lives of 93 children, and endorsing the need for preventive measures on a war-footing, point out that the ban on thatched roofs is posing a threat to the livelihood of thousands of labourers and small farmers.

A sudden fall in the price of thatches, `kidugu' in local parlance, has been reported from Ramanathapuram district, which reels under drought.

The price of one bundle of 50 thatches has come down to Rs. 45. With traders not showing interest in the purchase of thatches, the sale has abruptly nosedived, say small farmers and farmhands.

The district, endowed with 14 lakh coconut trees, is considered an important centre for making `kidugu' as a cottage industry, giving employment to over 25,000 labourers. The product made by the villagers of Keezhakadu, Raghunathapuram, Thinaikulam and Panchankulam was in demand till recently not only here but also in the neighbouring districts. As many as 50,000 thatches were sent to other areas every day. Now, the number has come to less than 10,000 now, says a wholesale merchant.

`Order mistaken'

``The Kumbakonam school fire has dealt a big blow to our business,'' says K. Shanmugam, a trader in Ramanathapuram town. Perhaps the public have mistaken the Government's order as a blanket ban on the use of thatches for laying roof even for structures other than school buildings, he says.

In Kanyakumari, another coastal district, too the price of thatches has come down drastically. Being a major crop in the district, coconut trees were raised on over 22,000 hectares.

In the system prevailing here, the farm workers took coconut groves on lease and used the fronds for making thatches, leaving the coconuts to the landowner.

Around 5,000 persons are engaged in transporting thatches to Chennai and Mayiladuturai. Till recently, traders in the field were sending 15 lorryloads daily to these two places. ``We are unable to send even 50 per cent of the consignment, thanks to the ban.''

No purchase orders

Strangely, purchase orders even from brick-kiln owners for covering bricks with thatches are also not forthcoming these days, they claim. Normally, 400 bundles, each with 25 thatches, were sold for Rs. 10,000 but they do not even fetch Rs. 6,000 after the tragedy, he points out.

As thatch has been used by the poor for laying roofs for the past several years, there is no point banning its use, the farmers say. The effective way of preventing recurrence of the devastating fire is making sincere attempts to implement safety rules and building regulations, they opine.

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