Farming and plantation activities resume at landslide-hit areas in Wayanad

Kalpetta: Plantation and farming activities have resumed in the landslide-hit regions of Wayanad, as the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has granted permission for farmers and plantation groups to bring in labourers for farming from Wednesday onwards.

Farming activities had been halted since the landslide hit the area on July 30. The workers staying in estate quarters were inadequate to manage the farms.

The cardamom and tea leaf harvest of small farms and plantations were affected due to the ban on vehicular movement to the region. The farmers were unable to provide monsoon care for the arecanut crop after the landslide.

“We would incur huge loss this year as more than 80 per cent of the arecanut has been lost due to fungal disease,” said Unni Francis, a farmer of Mundakkai.

Soon after the order with strict guidelines was released, Harrison’s Malayalam Limited (HML), the prominent plantation group which had huge losses in the landslide in the region, resumed farming activities with 46 labourers including 20 temporary workers from Cherambady in the neighbouring Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu. The farming activities were resumed at the Chooralmala and Sentinel Rock divisions and Ranimala Estate of the HML group. The HML group had lost huge tracts of land and 41 labourers were killed in the landslide.

HML General Manager (Tourism and allied business operations) Sunil John said that the plantation group has incurred huge losses due to the landslide. "Now we just started leaf plucking and other farm maintenance operations at a slow pace,” he said.

The DDMA issued the permission after the expert panel recommended that farming activities, including cardamom harvest, could be allowed in these divisions as there are no safety issues. In the plantations Vanarani, Nelliyampathy, Nagamala, and Vrindavan near Punchirimattam, labourers would be permitted only after a safe bridge is constructed and roads are rebuilt.

Going by the order of the DDMA,labourers could be transported through the Bailey bridge from 7 am onwards everyday. The labourers should be brought back by 3 pm. Only a minimum number of labourers would be allowed in vehicles. No farming activities would be allowed in 50 meters on both sides of the river. The availability of vehicles should be ensured to bring the labourers back to safety in emergencies. The labourers should be divided into 20-member groups and each group should have one co-ordinator to ensure that all labourers cross back the Bailey bridge in time.