Thiruvananthapuram: The government ordered reopening of plantations in the state with reasonable restrictions in place. The decision has been taken as the cultivation of tea, coffee, cardamom, cashew and oil palm trees have hit a crisis with no one to take care of it due to COVID-19 outbreak.
Tea
Approval has been given only for plucking the tender tea leaves and for processing it in the factory. Only the workers living inside the plantations should be employed to do the job. Only one person will be plucking leaves in half an acre area. Vehicle facility will be given for transporting the leaves to the warehouses. Mustering of the leaves has been restricted, while irrigation and spraying of pesticides are allowed.
Cardamom
Only one person can be deployed in one acre area for irrigation and for spraying of pesticides. Migrant labourers are not allowed.
Coffee
Four labourers can be employed in 15 acre area. Coffee seeds will be allowed to be transported to yards and factories.
Cashew
One person can be deployed to collect cashews in one hectare area. It has to be stored in the plantation yards.
Parcel service exempted
Meanwhile, the government has exempted parcel services from lockdown regulations. Although the distribution of food items, medicines and medical equipment were allowed earlier, the absence of parcel service affected the distribution of these essential items.
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