Erode , Expressing grave concern over the rampant felling of palmyra trees across Tamil Nadu, PMK leader Soumya Anbumani appealed to the public to safeguard and nurture the state tree, likening it to an unpaid, selfless mother who nurtures society without expecting anything in return.
She also lamented that the trees are being mercilessly felled without required regulatory permissions, particularly to fuel brick kilns. Recalling local traditions, she mentioned that in regions like Tiruvannamalai, communities historically revered palmyra trees and avoided cutting them, bringing one only for traditional folk theatre performances such as the 18-day Mahabharata Koothu .
“Earlier, wherever we travelled through rural roads, palmyra trees stood tall. Today, when multi-lane expressways and national highways are laid, these trees are cleared away and replaced merely with oleander shrubs on medians. Our younger generation hardly recognises a palmyra tree today they only know the fruit as ‘ice apple’ or ‘nongu tree’,” she remarked.
