Woman farmer weeps as Tangedco cuts 100 trees for power tower

The Story in Brief

A woman farmer broke down as officials of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) cut down over 100 trees on her land in Kallakurichi district on Saturday. Selvi, who had nurtured the trees for over a decade in memory of her late husband, pleaded with authorities to reroute a high-tension power tower. The trees, including mango, teak and mahogany, were felled by machinery as police removed her from the site. A video of the incident has gone viral.

Selvi and her son Balamurugan say the trees were worth an estimated Rs 2 crore, but Tangedco officials offered only Rs 97,000 in compensation. The family had sought an alternative route, and claim officials assured them one would be found. The Hindu reports that Selvi accused the officials and police of acting inhumanely, pointing out the contradiction between the government's tree-planting drives and this destruction.