Rain, gale destroy 25k plantain crops

More than 25,000 plantain crops were damaged in the strong gale at Thalavadi in Erode district on Monday night. Though the day started out as sunny, storm clouds began to gather by the night and it started to pour at 10 pm. The rainfall lasted for half-an-hour.

The strong winds also damaged 1,000 palm and 10 coconut trees in several farms located in Thalavadi area. Also, 10 electric posts fell, resulting in power outages. Similarly, a large number of plantains were damaged in rain and winds in Gudalur in The Nilgiris causing tremendous loss to farmers.

This destruction comes a week after similar weather damaged 50,000 plantains in Erode and an equal number in The Nilgiris on April 22. 

A 34-year old professor of a private agriculture college at Appakudal in Erode, died on Tuesday after a palm tree fell on him when he took shelter under it to escape rain accompanied by gale at a village in the district, police said. Govindan of Perumthalaiyur village, along with his friend, Suresh Kumar, was proceeding to P Mettupalayam to have dinner in a hotel on a two-wheeler when the incident occurred on Monday night. He suffered head injuries and was rushed to a private hospital in Bhavani where he died without responding to treatment on Tuesday, police added. The Kavindapadi police have registered a case. In another incident, Jeyammal, 50, suffered injuries to the head and feet after a portion of the wall of her house collapsed. She has been admitted to Gobichettipalayam Government Hospital.

A hundred Painted Stork chicks were killed and numerous other chicks sustained injuries after gusty winds and thunderstorm hit the famous Koothankulam Bird Sanctuary at Koonthankulam village in Tirunelveli, Forest officials on Tuesday said. Officials added that hundreds of bird nests atop the black babul trees grown inside the sprawling Koonthankulam tank as well the neem and acacia trees in the village were also destroyed in the gale on Monday evening. Tirunelveli forest range officer P Karuppaiah, along with the forest biologist and the veterinary team rushed to the sanctuary and have been treating the chicks. District Forest Officer K Thirumal said, Thirumal said officials were also engaged in proper disposal of bird carcasses to prevent outbreak of infections.