More than 50 people of Rajadhanipatti village in Dindigul district were hospitalised for diarrhoea allegedly due to the consumption of contaminated water from the village water tank on Sunday. They were admitted to Batlagundu Primary Health Centre and Usilampatti Government Hospital. Farm labourers Samivelu (38), Fatima (55) and six-year-old girl Ramba vomited continuously before falling unconscious on Sunday morning. The villagers complained that the water tank was not cleaned for years. Dr Jegadeesh, Deputy Director of Health, Dindigul, said only four people were affected.

Pineapple mealy bug is a major pest occurring wherever pineapple is grown. It is root feeding insect, yet some colonies are found on the basal portion of leaves and fruits. The pest sucks the sap and simultaneously injects saliva containing wilt virus, inflicting heavy losses. The first symptoms of the disease appear in the roots which cease to grow, collapse and then rot. An apparently flourishing crop will show the symptoms earlier than a slow growing poor crop. Quick wilt