Kerala: 460 banana trees chopped for a power line; KSEB action slammed

Last Friday, a small group of KSEB employees from the LMS office in Moolamattom felled the crop. The Varappetty KSEB office staff members were unaware of this conduct.

Kochi: In a shocking act, KSEB allegedly chopped down about 400 banana trees indiscriminately without prior notice in Muvattupuzha, Ernakulam. The farmer from Puthuppady accused the KSEB of this heinous when the Onam festival is around the corner. The incident took place on Friday afternoon, according to farmer Aneesh. He stated the act was justified by the KSEB citing the existence of a high-tension line. 

Aneesh asserted that he lost 406 banana trees, the majority of which were ready for harvest. He continued by saying that the incident cost him Rs 4 lakh. 
However, according to KSEB sources, the short circuit occurred a few days ago when banana tree leaves contacted a high-tension line.

Following the incident, Ernakulam District Collector intervened in the case and sought a report from Muvattupuzha Tehsildar on the matter. Agriculture Minister P Prasad also reacted strongly to the incident. He said that the action of the KSEB officials is highly objectionable. The Minister said that it was absolutely barbaric to cut and destroy a farmer's crops without paying for his sweat.

"KSEB should have intervened earlier if banana cultivation was not to be done in this place. Arbitrarily destroying the labor of a farmer when bunches of bananas were about to be sold is unacceptable."

The farmer Thomas and his son Aneesh, who live only 500 metres from the farm at Varappetty, close to the Kandampuzha Lift Irrigation Project, were not informed when the KSEB employees cut down the crop.

Norms allow for the cultivation of short-term crops, such as plantains, under 220 KV lines. By maintaining a certain distance from the line, permission is also given to construct a home directly beneath a tower line. The sole restriction is that trees that get taller than the line cannot be grown there.