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K. Muniayndi, a farmer in Theni who has cultivated panneer thiratchai on around 10 acres of land, told IANS that due to high temperatures, there would be a drastic fall in the crop's yield.

He said: "Generally, we get 10-12 tonnes of grapes from an acre of the farm, but due to temperatures touching more than 39 degrees Celsius, the yield will be less than three tonnes per acre."

The grape farmer also said that for one acre of grape cultivation, a farmer has to spend around Rs 1.25 lakh, and if the yield falls to three tonnes per acre, then the situation of the farmers would be pathetic.

Panneer Thiratchai Farmers Association leader Karuppanan Raju, while speaking to IANS, said: "Almost 90 per cent of our farmers are cultivating the fruit in the Cumbum area. The heatwaves have destroyed our lives. Around 300 farmers are cultivating on 5,000 acres of land, and we are looking forward to huge losses."

He also said that the yield would be less than 80 per cent of what they usually get, and called upon the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Department to provide compensation for their losses.

The Odaipatti seedless grape farmers have a similar story to narrate. Odaipatti is a region in Theni district which cultivates seedless grapes on around 1,000 acres of land, involving 200 farmers.

Krishnan Thevar, a grape farmer, while speaking to IANS, said: "We are facing a bleak future. We will only get two to three tonnes of grapes from an acre, which is very low. Generally, we harvest around 12 tonnes from an acre of land."

He demanded that the state government fix a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Odaipatti grapes at Rs 50 per kg, just like the state government sanctioned for sugarcane and paddy when there was crop loss.

It is worth noting that the Tamil Nadu government has already proposed a GI tag for Odaipatti seedless grapes, which would help felicitate the export of these grapes. However, presently, the farmers said that they are concerned about how to overcome the huge losses.

K. M. Murugesan, an Odaipatti seedless grape farmer, told IANS that the farmers want the state government's intervention in the matter to provide them with an MSP as they were expecting losses of 80 per cent of the yield in September, when they will harvest the crop.

(IANS)

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The military wing of the Palestinian Islamist organisation Hamas cited heavy clashes between its fighters and Israeli forces in the area of Jabalia, some four kilometres north of Gaza City.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the previous evening that warplanes had attacked targets in Jabalia after the civilian population there had been evacuated.

The Times of Israel wrote on Sunday that the army had called for an estimated 1,00,000-1,50.000 Palestinians in the Jabalia area to be evacuated.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has expressed "extreme concern" about evacuation calls for both Jabalia and Rafah in the south.

The clashes have highlighted apparent differences between Israel's political and military leaders over strategy in the Gaza war.

Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi reportedly complained to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the lack of a political strategy for the post-war period meant the army was now fighting in places such as Jabalia, which it had previously taken and withdrawn from.

According to media reports, Israeli soldiers are also still deployed in other locations in the north of the Gaza Strip.

(IANS/DPA)

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Two individuals brought hand-made portraits of PM Modi’s mother Heeraben to celebrate the mother-son bonding, on Mother’s Day. They kept flashing the portrait unless they got the attention of the Prime Minister, who urged them to hand it over to him with their name and details so that he could revert to them.

PM Modi acknowledged their endeavour and expressed gratitude for the heart-warming gesture and also added that he was highly moved by their love for him and his mother.

Addressing the gathering, PM Modi said that May 12 is celebrated by the Western world as Mother’s Day but for us, every day is a Mother’s Day.

“People of this country celebrate their relationship with the mother, all 365 days. From Goddess Durga to Goddess Kali to Bharat Mata, we revere all of them, on all days of the year,” PM Modi said, evoking loud applause from the gathering.

While the individuals gifted the portraits to PM Modi, the latter expressed gratitude to them and said he would try to pen a reply to them.

The video of the heart-warming moment is gaining good traction on social media, with many lauding the individuals for making the day ‘special’ for PM Modi.

A few days ago, a video of the Prime Minister recalling his relationship with his mother went viral, where he said that this was for the first time that he is going to the polls without the blessings of his mother.

“This is for the first time when I will go to file nomination without touching my mother’s feet,” an emotional Prime Minister said in a TV interview.

(IANS)