An oil note to TN
At the height of what I thought was a protest against Coal Bed Methane (CBM) project in the Thanjavur belt, I was talking to a native, also from a farming family. The moment I said how can one destroy the lush green paddyfields of Thanjavur with a CBM project he shot back at me with such aggression, I stood stunned. “Ennamma pasumai, sudugadumma, sudugadu (what greenery, it is burial ground, burial ground) he screamed. Then he slowed down to explain the experience of his family and most others in the delta region. He said most of them were only having a hand to mouth existence, most deep in debt, and he saw any industrial project that would give jobs, push up the prices of their lands a boon. I walked out of the conversation, unconvinced. I already knew of how in the Thanjavur delta people were quoting land prices in square feet. That is when I was dreaming of doing “organic farming”. I gave up, for what cultivation could I do buying an acre for 24 and 25 lakhs at Swami ...