Dam row dries up grape, worker flow to Kerala
The Mullaiperiyar dam row is threatening to take spice out of Keralites’ lives. Tension on border has affected supply of TN grapes and skilled cardamom workers to Kerala.
The immediate impact of this will be felt by the large Christian population in the neighbouring state that will not get its Christmas treat of homemade wine, while cultivators in Idukki district, where a majority of Kerala cardamom is grown, might suffer huge losses in the long term.
The cultivators are estimated to have already lost `400 crore over the past month.
The daily supply of more than 1.2 lakh kg of grapes to Kerala from Cumbum and Coimbatore had dried up in the past few weeks due to the unease over the dam row, said V. Ramesh, a director of Grape Growers Association in Coimbatore.
He said the demand for grapes usually peaked in December when Keralites use the fruit to make homemade wine, an integral part of Christmas celebrations. “Almost 50 per cent of Christians in Kerala consume homemade wine made of grapes sourced from TN,” Mr Ramesh said.
Normally, around 25,000 workers are brought from TN daily to do the picking in cardamom gardens.
“Threat to life coupled with animosity is keeping workers from estates,” said leading cardamom farmer K.V. Kartikeyan in Idukki.
The situation is so bad the spices board was forced to suspend its weekly cardamom auctions this month, which led to a loss of around `150 crore. n More on P5