Thanjavur Coconut Marketing Complex in Ponnvarayankad near Pattukottai | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Shops and other facilities remain in the Thanjavur Coconut marketing complex. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
More than ten years after his inauguration, the coconut marketing complex in the Ponnvarayankad near Pattukottai in the Thanjavur district remains non -operative, so farmers frustrated for long -term delay in use.
The complex was founded in 2011 under the Ministry of Agriculture for estimated cost of 8 crore and later reconstructed with CRORE 5.20 crore sanctioned in 2022. A complex of 20 hectares includes drying yard, worship, resting farmers’, They were sold directly.
The Thanjavur district has approximately 80,000 coconut farmers who grow a crop for more than 70,000 acres, with almost two lakh agricultural workers involved in coconut breeding.
V. Veerasenan, a coconut farmer from Pattukottai, pointed out that Delta districts, next to the Coimbatore belt, contribute significantly to the production of coconut Tamil Nadu. “The Facility Was The Result of An Aspiration Spanning Almost Three Decades. It Was Inaugurated in 2011 by Former Chief Ministry of M. Promised support for Value-Added Products Like Coconut Milk, Virgin Oil, Chocolates, and Biscuits-But These Remain Unfulfilled, ”He Said.
Gandhi EV, President of the Association of Coconut Farmers on the east coast, said: “In the whole delta, it is the only facility where coconut nuts could be processed for value -added products. However, it remains idle or insufficiently used.
The chief official from the Agriculture Department in Thanjavur said that the facility was previously rented to a private company for extracting virgin oil, but the operations stopped due to the high cost of raw materials. “We have 11 shops available for farmers and coconut traders and advertise them to rent them. Planned to meet the parties with farmers and traders to ensure better use of the facility.
Published – 27 April 2025 20:39
