Guj: Cyclone wreaks havoc on crops; mango, banana plantations worst hit
Cyclone Tauktae, which claimedthe lives of 45 persons in Gujarat, has also caused a hugedamage to standing summer crops, with the Kesar variety ofmango that is mainly grown in the coastal districts of GirSomnath and Junagadh, bearing its brunt along with the coconutand banana plantations in parts of the state, farmers said.
Coconut plantations in Junagadh, Gir Somnath, parts ofAmreli and Bhavnagar, and banana plantations in Bharuch, Tapi,Vadodara, Anand and parts of Kheda, among other districts,were badly hit, in addition to other standing summer crops,they said.
Hundreds of mango trees were uprooted in plantationsacross Junagadh, Gir Somnath and Valsad districts, with nearlyall the mangoes falling to the ground from the trees in thecyclone that made a landfall Monday night, the growers said.
Kirit Patel, who owns 75 acres of mango farm at Talalain Gir Somnath district, said that mango plantations inJunagadh and Gir Somnath districts, known for Kesar mangoesthat are supplied across the country and also exported inlarge quantities, have suffered a massive damage due to thecyclone.
“Nearly 40 per cent of Kesar mango trees have beenuprooted, which is a huge damage, as a tree takes nearly 15years for crop. Almost all the mangoes on the trees fell tothe ground, and these unripe mangoes are of not much use tothe growers,” Patel, who is also the Talala APMC chairman anda BJP leader, said.
A mango grower from Visavadar in Junagadh district,also known for Kesar variety said, “There is not a singlemango left on the trees. Many trees have been uprooted. Wehope the government will provide us with some assistance.” Valsad district, where both Kesar and Alphonsovarieties of mangoes are grown, also suffered a massivedamage, the growers said.
The situation of banana plantations has been nodifferent. Gusty winds destroyed the entire plantations ofthis fruit.
“There were 14,000 banana plants, out of which 9,000were completely uprooted and destroyed,” said one grower atUpleta in Rajkot district.
Another farmer said there were 21,000 plants, out ofwhich 10,000 were flattened due to the cyclone, which he said,came at a time when the crops were almost ready.
He said last year also they had suffered losses due tothe coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Sagar Rabari, a farmer leader and president of GujaratKhedut Samaj, said, “The state did not witness such a cyclonein a long time, which caused a massive damage to thehorticulture as well as summer crops.” All the crops that were damaged were almost ripe andready to be stored at home or hit the markets, he said.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had on Tuesday assuredfarmers that the government will undertake an immediate surveyof the damages caused by the cyclone to the summer crops andmango, coconut and banana plantations, and assistance will beprovided accordingly.
Summer crops, such as bajra, moong, urad, summergroundnuts, sesamum, as well as vegetables and guar gum aremainly grown in Saurashtra and north Gujarat regions of thestate, while north Gujarat districts grow bajra and groundnut.
Paddy and bajra are also grown in large quantities incentral Gujarat districts, which also grow mung.
In Saurashtra, bajra, moong, groundnut, and sesamumare grown in large quantities during summer.
Vegetables are grown across all the regions of Gujaratduring this season.
The cyclone made landfall between Diu and Una town ofGir Somnath district in Gujarat on Monday night. As many as 45persons lost their lives in cyclone-related incidents in thestate as it left behind a trail of destruction along thecoast, uprooting electric poles, trees and damaging thousandsof houses and roads.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)