Minister to combat coconut pest

Jaya WICKRAMA SURENDRA- Matara special corr.

Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development Minister Jagath Puhspakumara directed officers of the Coconut Cultivation Board's Matara District office to take necessary steps to combat the coconut disease spreading in the South and provide relief to affected cultivators.

Presiding over a meeting organised by the District Office at the Matara District Secretariat the Minister questioned officials as to what action had been taken so far to combat this disease known as the Weligama leaf blight. He said about 350,000 coconut trees in Matara, Galle and Hambantota districts had been affected by this disease and if it was allowed to spread into the coconut triangle the country would be compelled to import large stocks of coconut to meet the local demand in the future.

The Minister who emphasised the need for the district political authority's support in combating the disease said officers should visit the affected coconut cultivations and submit true data about the present status of the disease after discussions with growers. So that systematic action could be taken to arrest the spread of the disease.

He also instructed officials to make adequate compensation payments to cultivators for uprooted coconut trees adding that the President had allocated sufficient funds for this purpose.

Southern Province Chief Minister Shan Wijeyalal de Silva said the District Political Authority should lend its unstinted support towards measures to provide quick relief to cultivators whose cultivations had been affected by the disease.

Officers of the Coconut Cultivation Board and the Coconut Development Authority said certain growers are reluctant to uproot affected trees as the payment of compensation is a long drawn out process involving 7 to 8 months.