CHENNAI: Anointed the state tree, palm population in Tamil Nadu is said to have been around the five-crore mark in the late years of pre-independence. Today, it's far from the state of abundance it once enjoyed; thanks to the sugar lobby, ban on toddy and several other decisions that has seen to the active destruction of this native species.
Fighting this tide is the Kakkai Arakattalai, a charitable trust that works towards societal wellbeing, and it’s palm plantation drives.
The plan is simple enough - repopulate the state's long coastline with rows and rows of palm trees. Towards this end, they have held plantation drives in different districts since 2019. This time around, on the request of Maruthuvar Anitha Ninaivu Arakattalai, the organisation began its drive at the late student’s hometown of Kuzhumur, Ariyalur.
Lending support to the trust were sister organisations Thondaimandalam Foundation, Tamilnadu Kal Kootamaippu and More Care International. "With the help of different organisations in Tamil Nadu, we've planted 1.40 crore palm saplings in the past two years. By the end of this year, we hope to get that number to two crores," begins Manikandan, head of Kakkai Arakattalai.
The idea is to build up enough momentum for the next generation to carry through. And that’s all the more reason to cover the coasts, he says. "From Ennore to Kanniyakumari, fisherfolk have been demanding that the government build a wall on the shore to save them and their possessions from sea intrusions. Actually building such a wall isn't easy and it is not likely to last long. In this light, palm trees seemed to a sustainable solution. And that's when we decided to take it to all parts of the state," he says.
Palm trees not only play a huge role in preventing soil erosion, it's said to retain and restore groundwater reserves. Once grown, the trees can offer cover for the boats and even help anchor them by the shore, he notes.
For the past two years, they have planted rows of trees along the Chennai coast, from Pattinapakkam to Uthandi Toll Gate, reports Vishwa of Kal Kootamaippu. This year, while the drive was flagged off in Ariyalur by DMK's Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, the team is set to begin work in Chennai by September 20.
This year, the organisations plan to cover the long and wide median along the Outer Ring Road. By the time the trees are big enough to bear fruit, it will help feed the animals that graze the ground there, says Vishwa.
Right now, the teams are facing a bit of a trouble sourcing palm seeds for the city. In 2019, they had been given access to IIT Madras' huge panai kaadu. It's not been the case since last year though. The administration doesn’t let palm workers to collect nungu from the campus either, says Manikandan.
If they were to collaborate with IIT, they would easily be able to plant two lakh saplings every year, he adds. On part of the Kal Kootamaippu, this is also a means to prepare for the eventual removal of ban on toddy.
"There’s no use for cows if you ban milk, right? That’s what happened to the palm. But, when the government lifts the ban on toddy, we would need palm trees and we need to be ready," he suggests.
For Manikandan, it's putting to test the age-old adage: Thennai vithaithavan thinnuttu saavaan, panai vithaithavan paathuttu saavaan. The common misconception is that people assume the one who plants a coconut reaps the reward of its fruit while the one who plants the palm dies waiting for it.
"The real meaning is, everything you get from palm - karupatti, pathaneer, panangkizhangu - is so healthy that you will live to see the next generation," he explains, offering this as a guiding principle for the initiative. Here's to seeing that come through.