Help The Gaja Cyclone Victims Amid COVID-19!

“It’ll take at least 5 years for the farmers to recover from this damage,” Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Union President, Deivasigamani said on November 18, 2018, after having analysed the incurred loss by cyclone Gaja. 

A cyclonic storm called ‘gaja’ wreaked havoc on 12 districts of Tamil Nadu, affecting thousands of poor families, during the early hours of November 16, 2018. As reported by The News Minute, 1,70,454 trees fell during the devastation. That amounts to about 80% of trees that the poor farmers had depended on for their livelihoods. Acres of coconut farms, banana plantations and corn fields across the delta and coastal areas of Tamil Nadu were found damaged in the wake of this ferocious storm.

“My crops were gone overnight. The house that I lived in with my wife and elderly parents was nearly unroofed.” Krishnan, a farmer dwelling in the outskirts of Thanjavur said with a scared frown. “It’s still not repaired completely. After the huge financial losses, I couldn’t bear the expenses. And now this lockdown - it has stopped everything. I don’t know how we’ll manage.” He concluded, clearly shaken by the present situation.

Cyclone Gaja destroyed countless fishing nets and fibre boats in and around the fishing villages of Nagapattinam and Thanjavur. Thousands of fishermen and their families are still reeling from the aftershock of the severe damage. Their poverty didn’t let them fully get over the losses. They struggled to make ends meet anyway. On top of that, Corona showered its wrath upon them. Being restricted to their homes, the poor fishermen community cannot earn a penny. All they are left with is the fear of extreme starvation.

While the worst-hit by Gaja were the farmers and fishermen, there’s another hugely struggling and vulnerable group of people who suffered profusely. These are the families of folk artists residing in the villages of Tamil Nadu. Many of them lost their homes to this cyclone. While some recovered with time, some were still saving money by performing at the temples and other religious occasions. Now they’re out of income.