Small hopes of these Tamil Nadu farmers were eaten by pigs
Thoothukudi: Farmers of Pudur and Ettayapuram blocks are in a state of worry as wild boars are infesting agricultural fields and damaging crops in rain-fed areas of the district. A retired forest official attributed the growing menace of pigs in recent years to the exodus of people from the Narikuravar and Kattunayakan communities, abandoning their pigs.
The farmers of Maavilipatti, Alagapuri, Ayan Karisal Kulam, Keelanattukurichi, Melkaranthai, Thapati, Ayan Vadamalapuram and Muthalapuram, Nandipuram, Sinthalakarai, Duraisamy Puram, Venkateswarapuram, Raman Oothu, Na Valakampatti, Kummareddirpuram and others in Ettayapuram taluk located on the north bank of the Vayappar River Puthupatti on the southern coast is facing all threats.
Referring to the powers delegated to forest rangers and forest workers to kill wild boars that were damaging crops in the northern districts, the farmers demanded similar measures to control indigenous boars as well. The agricultural pattern followed in the rainfed tracks of Vilathikulam, Ettayapuram and Pudur is short duration crops are grown by the farmers during the rabi season.
The farmers of the region cultivate peanuts in August (etc.); Maize Cholam (Maize) and Cotton (Avani) in September; cholam, green gram and black gram (purtasi) in October; Kambu, coriander leaves, and sunflower (ayipasi-karthigai) in November. Maize crops are harvested after 120 days, while other crops are harvested in 70 to 100 days.
Farmers say that pigs mainly come in search of maize fields and trample other fields on the way.
Ayan, a farmer who cultivates coriander on 10 acres of land in Vadamalapuram, said that pigs enter the fields in large numbers and damage them, even if they do not eat it.
A Varadarajan, leader of the Karisal Farmers Union, said the damage caused by the pigs is widespread. He informed that maize farmers were first affected by Fall Armyworm (FAW), drought and then incessant rains and now they are affected by indigenous pigs.
failed techniques
Although the farmers tried various methods to keep the pigs away, such as loud dogs barking through speakers and fencing the fields with mesh, all their efforts were in vain. Some people also tried to hunt pigs using dogs like Chippiparai and Kanni, but to no avail.
A farmer, on condition of anonymity, said that he along with others had hired 200 Chippiparai dogs and hunters from Poosaripatti near Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar and hunted over 250 pigs in a single day. “The poachers charged them a total of Rs 40,000, which is very expensive,” he said, adding that the boars were also aggressive as four Chippiparai dogs were killed in the raid.
Claiming that forest and revenue officials are silent on the issue, farmers alleged that despite conducting surveys, no action has been taken so far to distribute compensation for crop damage.
Forest officials said the damage to the crop was caused by pigs, known as wild boars. “The forest department can only provide relief for damage caused by wild boars,” he added.
The farmers demanded that the state government should take effective steps to deal with the menace of pigs before the commencement of rabi crop cultivation and compensation should be given for crop damage caused by indigenous pigs.
