You are on page 1of 1

With failure of rain,

26 | Ram an at hapuram

it is a double whammy
ARITRY, MANASA R, Pechi (60) said paddy farmers said Radhika. A graduate who unemployment compensation
ANANYA were the worst affected in the used to teach at a nursery under MGNREGA. However, it
water crisis. I get by because I school, she said, I resigned was denied to them by
KALARI/SUMAITHANGI/ rear two goats. But it is really voluntarily to take care of my government officials for having
VENGULAM: Women were hard as we have to pay Rs 10 for family. But now we are in a the same names on their Aadhar
gathering coloured plastic pots a pot of water. Rarely the village financial crisis. cards, they said. The fact that
from inside their homes. Some tank gets any water and when it Unlike Kannadasan, not Aadhar cards have unique
of them stood near the does everyone fights to get to everyone was lucky to find numbers did not help them.
threshold looking out for their the single tap, she said pointing MGNREGA jobs as there is We dont understand these
men folk who had gone to fetch to empty vessels in a long nothing to work on here, said things and hence we cannot
water. An old man passed by, queue. Rathika. Most villagers like protest, she added.

Sanitation: No end to
wheeling a trolley of sorts, that The water crisis meant Pechi, belonging to the Adi If no politician visits, how
held five pots each. More trolley- villagers were reverting to open Dravida community, do not will we share our grievances,
pushing men followed. This was a defecation on fields though they have last names or initials. They asked Lakshmi. Other women Thatched space as makeshift toilet. | PRIYANKA P
sight from Vengulam, a village in have toilets constructed in their were supposed to get joined the chorus.

early morning beat


Ramanathapuram district. houses, thanks to government
The failure of the northeast schemes.
monsoon has aggravated The TN governments mega
problems in this drought-prone combined water scheme, with
district where drinking water the Cauvery as the source in
supply has stopped in many Tiruchi, for Ramanathapuram,
villages. Sivaganga, and Pudukottai
Kannadasan, a small farmer districts, has completely failed
in Kalari, was not able to raise in the past few months.
crops this season. I am working Saraswati, a villager, pointed
on roads as an unskilled labour to a serpentine pipe behind her PRIYANKA Panchayat Board President, but the village. That used to be a
to sustain my family. The 100- thatched hut. It was laid PARTHASARATHI they keep delaying the facility. pond. We all took bath there.
day work scheme under the around a year ago. It was Now, they are asking us to build Water flowed up to the third
Mahatma Gandhi National supposed to bring us Cauvery RAMANATHAPURAM: it and send them the bill, says step, says Maheshwari M.
Rural Employment Guarantee river water from another tank Pandiselvi Munniaswamys her father-in- law, Pandi. Today, you can see all eight
Act (MGNREGA) helped him. meant for the seven villages. toilet is a short walk away from Adding to their misery is a steps leading to the pond.
In this village, the only water With a promise to build a her house. There she says, looming drought. We havent Maheshwari (26) has been
source is the truck supply bigger tank, pipes were laid out. pointing at an overgrown field. seen rains for a year now. The defecating on the fields behind
provided by the government But there has been no trace of A mother of two, Pandiselvi pond that we take bath in has her house as long as she can
from a far-off well. But villagers water. They have roads wide gets up early in the morning and almost dried up. Whats left in it remember. Yes, it is dirty and
say it is dirty and saline. Worse, enough for water tankers to goes to the field. I do it behind is only dirty water, he adds. the doctors ask us to build
they are charged for it. enter, leaving no room for the trees. she whispers. But, With tap water available only toilets lest we catch diseases.
In Vengulam, one Syntex excuses. It only requires a she doesnt carry water with twice a week, they have to store But I think even our bodies are
water tank serves the needs of mobilisation of affected her. Its extremely dirty there. it for drinking and cooking. used to this now. Besides, where
around 85 households. Supply residents and political will. I finish off my business quickly At Sumaithangi, a few miles will we get the money to build a
of water is intermittent and it is Asked about the problems in and come back home and wash away from Kalari, people have a toilet?
let out erratically at odd hours this district, Collector S. up. Her washroom is a small similar story. Only the kids This practice can be
ranging from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m., Natarajan said, We have been area enclosed with mats made here get to use the bathroom unsanitary, especially when
said Lakshmi, a farmhand who hit by drought this time. This is of dried palm leaves. There are because they have one in their women are menstruating. We
collects firewood like other a farming oriented district. The many like Pandiselvi at Kalari school, says Karupaiyya K. wrap the used sanitary napkins
women in these parts. We find government is taking steps to village constrained to defecate Nowadays, because of the with garbage lying close by and
it hard to manage our basic ease the crisis and create water in open spaces. drought, we cant even take a burn them, says Maheshwari.
needs cooking, bathing, facilities for farmers. Just metres away from bath. Sometimes, I pour a mug The government has helped
washing clothes... she added. In the absence of any factory Pandiselvis house are a few of water over my head. Thats to build toilets in a few houses
At Sumaithangi, an entire in the area to provide newly built Amma houses. all. here. We are still waiting, says
pond has dried up and become employment, farmers have These have toilets. We too were A few men play football on an her mother Unniamma (45).
a football ground. taken to firewood collection, Empty pots waiting for water in Sumaithangi | ARITRY D promised bathrooms by the open field close to the houses in

Bearing the burden of drought


Where does the famed SUMAITHANGI

jasmine come from?


MANASA R another cutting. But he has already begun
preparations for another nursery and has Sumaithangi, a village in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, has not seen rain in the past
THANGACHIMADAM: The first place even made marks on the soil.
that comes to mind when you see malli No chemicals are used for the plants. six months. The failure of North-East monsoon has aggravated the existing water scarcity issue
(jasmine) is Madurai. Madurai malli Maheshkumar vouches that they use
owns the first GI (geographical only natural manure such as goat in the village resulting in drought. PHOTOS AND TEXT BY UTSAV TIWARI
indication) tag given to a flower in Tamil dung. Even the goats whose droppings
Nadu. But according to Gopalakrishnan are used as manure are reared by him
N (48), Every jasmine flower worn by and his family on a field right beside the
women across this country can be traced nurseries. The old woman
to Thangachimadam. He is referring to In 15 days, the much sought-after roots seems to be
the regions speciality jasmine will sprout. We keep them for 30 days asking: When
nurseries. More than 250 farmers have inside the pandal. The dry fronds from will this drought
small nurseries, which deliver cuttings of the roof will be removed in instalments.
many varieties, especially of the famed Too much exposure to the sun all of a end?
Ramanathapuram gundumalli, to sudden can cause the plants to wilt. The
suppliers all over the country. finished product can remain outside the
The owner of a 200-acre nursery shelter for a year.
reveals the magic ingredient behind the The economics of it is simple. Traders
world famous plant: good sand. and brokers from flower markets
M.P.K. Maheshkumar, another nursery including Tiruchi and Koyambedu in
owner, says pointing to his left: The sea Chennai buy a required quantity of the
is 1 km from here and 1. 5 km from here plants or naathu as each plant is called.
[at right]. Water and excellent soil They, in turn, give it to the farmers A resident of Sumaithangi village showing a dried
together make it highly suitable for surrounding the markets to raise the
cultivation. plants. Daily, jasmine flowers are plucked irrigation canal and explaining how water scarcity
Maheshkumar has been running his and transported to the wholesalers. has affected agriculture in the last one year. The villagers walk for an hour daily to collect water from the nearest
nursery for the past 40 years. He says, But all we get is Rs 2.5 a plant for all well. They use trolleys,-- which can carry up to five pots at a time.
40 years ago, people in these parts used our efforts to care and nurture the plants,
to have betel leaf vines. Now, we have the core. Maheshkumar says
moved slightly away from that soil to resignedly. We dont have any union
fresh soil here. This virgin soil is ideal, which will ensure that we get some
he adds. amount of profit directly, like how the
Thangachimadam and neighboring traders get. The irony is that, the
Akkamadam (which is also home to a few flowers, if used for garlands, sell for
small jasmine farms) are separated from prices starting from Rs 30. Only
the mainland by the Pamban channel. sometimes do the brokers pay these
More than 150 acres of its land is under farmers from their profits. The problem
jasmine. is the presence of too many middlemen,
The nursery in question consists of a he adds.
thatched roof pandal to shelter the Failure of the northeast monsoon has
plants from harsh sunlight and wind. The blighted these plants as well. Farmers in
pandal is made up of light, dry drumstick neighbouring areas take these plants
branches. from us to grow on their farms. But if
Holding a wispy thin stem with a white they have no water facility, where will
bud on top, Maheshkumar explains that they keep these plants? he asks. This
this is the thai plant, or mother plant. A indicates that demand can fall, as well as
wide bed of such plants dots the the prices.
periphery of the thatched hut nurseries. Even to raise the plants, a lot of water is
The whole process starts with the necessary. Thats the nature of jasmine.
cutting of the mother plant. A fine stem If you water the plant in the morning, by
from that is selected, cut and pruned. sundown, it will look very dry..as if it
That is most important, says wasnt watered at all.
Maheshkumar. The stems, all cut in Even as he talks to us, visiting
uniform sizes, are planted in the soil journalism students, Maheshkumar goes
inside the nursery. to check on his drip irrigation set-up.
The stems are cut thrice a year. Ive just laid these pipes on in my farm. We walk for two kilometres to fetch water from the
March, April, May. June, July, August. Lets see how it works out, he says with a Youth enjoy a game of football in what used to be a pond a year ago.
September, October and November, he smile, sounding optimistic. well, says Meenamma. There are no taps at homes.
adds. Come March, it will be time for

You might also like