PONDA: One Ajay Kashinath Gawde, 32, a resident of Wadiwada Tivrem, died after he fell from a coconut tree. According to Ponda police, Ajay slipped and fell from a tree while plucking coconuts at Zuvarwada, on Sunday evening. He died on the spot. Ponda Police conducted panchanama.

It may be recalled that the state is facing serious shortage of pluckers since the present youth belonging to families which traditionally engaged in this occupation do not want to engage in these jobs. The scarcity is also affecting coconut cultivation and production in the State. 

GSHCL had selected around 42 professional pluckers from Canacona and Pernem talukas, who would be stationed at the taluka level Corporation offices from where they would be taken to respective sites by the coconut growers. Along with these 42, the Corporation had trained some 15 youth to pluck coconuts, who would be also deployed with them. 

“In Goa, there is some sort of feeling that the coconuts plucking occupation is a minimal one and there is no attraction towards it. Hence the number of pluckers has dwindled,” GSHCL Managing director Orlando Rodrigues had told Herald some time back, adding that this had domino effect with farmers refusing to plant more coconut trees.