Tamil Nadu - Udhagamandalam   

Association puts rain loss at Rs. 4 crore

Photo: Special Arrangement

Extensive damage: Singara Estate near Coonoor. —

Udhagamandalam: The member estates of the Nilgiri Planters Association (NPA) have suffered a total loss of about Rs. 4 crore in the torrential rain which lashed many parts of the district recently, according to its chairman Jiten Pareek.

In a press note issued here on Saturday, he pointed out that apart from the huge loss the working of many plantations had been seriously affected.

Stating that this year the North-East monsoon rains have been unusually heavy, he said that as compared to the total rainfall of 77 cms recorded between January and October 2009, the rainfall recorded between November 9 and 11 was 82 cms. It had caused extensive damage in the member estates to tea fields, roads, buildings, retaining walls and drains. For nearly a week the field operations in many tea estates were severely affected. Many of the streams had changed course and tonnes of top soil washed away.

The loss of the rich top soil can never be made up. The worst affected areas of the plantations were the new clearings and replanted areas. Pointing out that most of these areas had become vulnerable to mortality of tea bushes, Mr. Pareek said that it was a huge capital loss.

In the incessant rains, about 15 acres of tea had been damaged in the member estates. Among the plantations affected were Nonsuch Estate, Kil Kotagiri Estate, Kairbetta Estate, Singara Estate, Erinkadu Estate, Coonoor Tea Estate, Craigmore Estate, Chamraj Estate, Kotada Estate, Thiashola Estate, Glendale Estate, Parkside Estate, Mailoor Estate and Katery Estate. Owing to the attendance being affected by the continuous rains and loss of working days, tea production had been hit.

Since power supply was erratic, dependence was more than usual on generators. This added to the cost of production. Due to restrictions imposed on freight vehicles, firewood requirements could not be met. The cost of transporting tea to the plains had also gone up.

Claiming that the damage to buildings including workers’ quarters, revetments, drains, roads and pathways in various estates had been severe, Mr. Pareek said that the subsidy scheme for constructing retaining walls should be revived. He appealed to the government to extend financial assistance to take up soil and water conservation works. “The scheme can be executed under the Hill Area Development Programme. It will not only be of considerable help to the managements but also have a long-term impact on the respective areas,” he said.

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