With the mercury level soaring to 44 degrees Celsius, the demand for tender coconut has gone up in Erode..
| Photo Credit: M. GOVARTHAN
With the mercury level soaring to 44 degrees Celsius and prevalence of heatwaves across the district continue to affect people, the demand and sale of tender coconut, juices and summer fruits have gone up significantly pushing up its price.
Temperature continued to be over 40 degrees Celsius in the past one week that touched a maximum of 44 degrees Celsius on Thursday. Severe heatwave conditions continue to affect people who prefer to stay at homes. Cattle were also affected. Dependence on watermelon, tender coconut, buttermilk, muskmelon, cucumber, sugarcane juice and other juices doubled in the last two to three weeks and increase in demand led to surge in prices.
Vendors said a piece of watermelon is being sold for ₹20, coconut between ₹30 and ₹60, sugarcane juice between ₹15 and ₹20 and a lemon between ₹10 and ₹25. Also, the price of fruits, particularly oranges, has increased from ₹70 a kg to ₹140 a kg while the price of other fruits has also gone up by 30% to 80%. “Usually during summer, the price of fruits and juices would go up. But, due to intense heat and increase in demand, the price has gone up like never before,” said V. Jothi, a street vendor at Kollampalayam.
Though many stay at home, people depend on fruits and juices to keep themselves hydrated.
“Intense heat is prevailing even before the start of Kathiri Veyil on May 4,” said T. Gunasekaran of Moolapalayam. He said heat is not only affecting elders and children, but also people of all age groups.
“We see no respite for the next three weeks as there is no rain,” he added.
Many parts of Talavadi hills continue to receive rain in the evening bringing down the temperature. But, farmers claim that gusty wind is damaging their standing crops and wanted adequate compensation for the damaged crops.