Perhaps the only ones who are cheered are the rubber planters in the state who are enjoying bumper prices, and the Kerala State Electricity Board which lifted the daily half-hour load shedding from today thanks to rising water levels in the dams.
Incessant rain over the past week has caused widespread losses in the state, the latest reports of which have come from Munnar in the High Ranges where landslips and uprooting of trees by the wind and rain have led to traffic jams and extensive damage to roads.
Down south near the state capital, the rain caused losses of Rs17.5 million in the Neyyattinkara region on Sunday, driving over 300 people into refugee camps. The Amboori panchayat, which was witness to a major landslip two years ago that left only one survivor in a family, was among the places where several houses were razed to the ground by the rain.
The monsoon season also spells lean days for the fishing sector, owing to the annual trawling ban that is imposed by the state government. From midnight last night, the trawling ban came into effect, and the ban stands for the next 45 days.
The ban is not applicable to country boats, but the trawling boat owners in Kollam have threatened to defy the ban if traditional fishing craft with inboard engines and using banned nets are permitted to fish during the ban .
In contrast, the natural rubber sector is enjoying a boom, with the price per kilo having touched Rs64, which was the record it reached way back in 1995 when natural rubber planters had a rollicking time.
Prices in the futures market indicated that the high price was likely to be sustained at least until September.
Planters here feel that the price rise can be attributed to the rainy season when the price is traditionally high. But no one is able to pinpoint the exact reason for natural rubber prices to reach such high levels. Planters in Kerala, who produce roughly 95 per cent of Indias natural rubber, are now rushing to put rain guards on the rubber trees so that they can tap latex from the trees throughout the monsoon season when the price is at its peak.
Part of the reason for such a high price in June is thought to be the particularly severe dry period in Kerala during the summer months.
During April-May, production dwindled significantly.
During 2003-04, total production of natural rubber in the country was 715,650 tonnes while consumption was higher at 719,600 tonnes.
Gulf News
