Madurai :

The decline in the population of palmyra trees, the official tree of Tamil Nadu, has raised concern among a group of college students here, who have released a documentary in a bid to promote awareness on the need to conserve these species.

About 30 students from the English department of Fatima College here travelled to Kovilpatti in Tuticorin district under the guidance of Dhan Foundation, an NGO and filmed the lives of palm climbers. The final documentary, titled ‘Waning Wealth’, was released recently.

R Arunadhi, a student of MA English, said, “Through the documentary, we are aiming to create awareness regarding palmyra trees. It portrays the life of palm climber and also speaks in detail about the products that we get from these trees, like the palm drink and palm sugar.”

The group picked Kovilpatti since the place is known for its significant palmyra tree population. The students travelled all the way to Kovilpatti taluk and started their shoot at four in the morning.

A J Bermita, another MA student, said, “Palmyra tree climbers wake up as early as 4am, so we started our day along with them. Out focus was basically on the disappearance of palmyra trees from Tamil Nadu.”

These trees were originally found in African tropical forests. In the state, palmyra trees have great significance since the leaves of these trees were earlier used to write Tamil scripts. However, a reported lack of state support, financially and technologically, to the labourers has caused the trees to disappear as less farmers opt for palmyra cultivation these days.

Kumari Ananthan, former president of Tamil Nadu Palmyra Workers Welfare Board, suggested that leaves of the trees be used to print wedding invitations, to raise more awareness about the trees.

“It is our duty to preserve the palmyra trees, since they are considered Tamil Nadu’s state tree,” she said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / February 22nd, 2015