Gusty wind destroyed 30,000 plantains cultivated on over 27 acres at Mela Seval near Tirunelveli in the early hours of Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SHAIKMOHIDEEN A
The sudden downpour coupled with gale that lashed Mela Seval and surrounding areas in the district in the early hours of Saturday destroyed over 30,000 plantains cultivated on over 27 acres.
Strong gusty wind started lashing Mela Seval, Keezha Seval, Chokkalingapuram and Piraancheri around 4.30 a.m. on Saturday and this was followed by a heavy downpour making things worse for farmers, who have planted ‘naenthiran’, ‘karpooravalli’, ‘naadu’ and ‘rasakathali’ varieties on over 150 acres in this area.
“The nature’s fury has destroyed over 30,000 8-month-old plantains causing hefty loss to farmers of these four villages. We were actually waiting for the harvest around ‘Pongal’ (January 14). However, all our hopes have been dashed now after spending ₹100 per banana,” said a farmer, N. Suresh of Mela Seval, whose two brothers and friends have also suffered huge loss.
The farmers complained that the officials who conducted preliminary survey to assess the quantum of damage did not visit the ranches away from Ambasamudram Main Road.
However, the officials attached to the revenue and horticulture departments said they would visit all the affected fields soon to record the quantum of damage with the survey numbers of the lands.
Even though Indian Meteorological Department had predicted heavy downpour for the district on Saturday, only intermittent drizzle continued badly affecting those who wanted to visit the special camps organised as part of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral roll that is underway in Tamil Nadu.
“As this special camp is organised on Sunday (November 23) also, we expect the submission of significant number of filled-in enumeration forms,” said the officials attached to the election department and Tirunelveli Corporation.
While most of the areas away from the Western Ghats had to content with intermittent drizzle, Manjolai, Kakkachi, Oothu and Nalumukku, all in the hilly region, recorded good rainfall on Saturday also. With the increased influx of water, the water level in Papanasam dam rose, however water level in Manimuthar dam, the district’s largest reservoir, recorded an increase of just one feet.
Rainfall in the district (in mm): Oothu – 118, Nalumukku – 106, Kakkachi – 92, Manjolai – 88, Papanasam dam – 46, Kannadiyan Channel – 34, Radhapuram – 32, Manimuthar dam – 29, Ambasamudram – 28, Kodumudiyar dam and Moolaikaraipatti – 25, Palayamkottai – 19, Nambiyar dam – 18, Tirunelveli – 17, Kalakkad – 13, Servalar dam – 12, Nanguneri – 10 and Cheranmahadevi – 9.
The intermittent drizzle continued in neighbouring Tenkasi district also. Consequently, the Main Falls, Five Falls and Old Courtallam Waterfalls experienced heavy flow of water on Saturday. Following the increased flow of water in Chittar River, the systemized tanks in the western parts of Tenkasi district, are either overflowing again or about to reach the maximum capacity after the southwest monsoon season.
Rainfall in the district (jn mm): Aayikudi – 26, Ramanadhi dam – 23, Tenkasi – 22, Gadananadhi dam – 21, Adavinainarkovil dam – 11, Shencottai – 10, Gundar dam – 8, Sivagiri – 7 and Sankarankovil – 3.
Published – November 22, 2025 06:26 pm IST
