Over 10,000 banana plants damaged in strong wind

Coimbatore: Strong wind damaged more than 10,000 banana plants and uprooted 20 coconut trees at Lingapuram, Kanthavayal and surrounding areas near Sirumugai on Monday evening. A transformer and two trees were uprooted at Mettupalayam as well. One of the trees fell on a car, damaging it.
Farmers from Lingapuram, Kanthavayal and Mokkaimedu areas said they had cultivated banana plants on 900 acres of agricultural land. The storm, which started at 5pm on Monday, damaged more than 10,000 banana plants, they said.
Chinnu, a farmer from Lingapuram, said the strong wind was usual in the Tamil month of ‘Chithirai’. “We haven’t insured the crop under the crop insurance scheme, as we did not get any assistance from the government for the crop loss in the past.”
At Bharathi Nagar on Karamadai Road, a neem tree fell on a transformer, uprooting the same. Power supply was subsequently disrupted in the locality. A tree in front of a commercial complex was uprooted in the storm and fell on a car, which was completely damaged, at Mettupalayam. Another tree was uprooted near KK Nagar credit society at Mettupalayam, bringing the traffic on Mettupalayam-Annur road to a halt for a while. Mettupalayam and surrounding areas have been witnessing heavy rain in the past two days. tnn