Rain, gale pound Gobichettipalayam

Rain accompanied by thunder and strong winds pounded the area throughout Wednesday night, resulting in massive destruction of standing crops and properties of farmers.

More than 1,000 chicks were crushed to death after a poultry farm collapsed in Bommanaickenpalayam. Of the 5,000-odd chicks, more than 1,000 birds at the farm, owned by a person called Ramakrishnan, died in the incident. Also, shelters, put up for sericulture rearing by about a dozen farmers in the neighbouring areas were blown away in the strong winds.

Over 20,000 plantains, which were ready for harvest in Kadukkampalayam, Bommanaickenpalayam and Othakudhirai areas, got uprooted in the strong winds. Further, buildings of a government higher secondary school and a primary school at Bolavalipalayam suffered damage due to tree fall.

Tree fall also led to long hours of power outage in interior villages. More than 50 villages, including Kullapalayam, Dasampalayam and Kadukkampalayam, faced power cuts after trees fell on electric posts causing them damage. Also, many roads were cut off from residential localities due to tree falls.

Farmers estimated the damage to properties and farms due to the heavy rains and winds at more than Rs 1 crore. “This rain has caused severe loss to farmers. The extent of damage should be evaluated by the Revenue Department and farmers should be compensated for it,” said R Mariappan, a farmer from Gobichettipalayam.

Similar downpour in Namakkal district also caused extensive damage to banana farms.