Rows of palm trees line both sides of the road, as far as the eye can see. Thanks to them, lightning deaths here have fallen to zero, and around the palms Tk 2 crore to Tk 2.5 crore is added to the local economy in the four summer months.

Amla Bazar, a traditional market in Mirpur upazila of Kushtia, sits beside the Kushtia-Meherpur highway. Turn left from the market and within 4-5km rows of palm trees appear on both sides of the road, and on every path and field around. This is Kakiladah, in Sadarpur union of Mirpur upazila, now known as the "palm tree village". Many also know it as the village of the eminent jurist Justice Dr Radhabinod Pal.

Villagers earn extra income from the palms, selling green palm fruit, palm juice, ripe fruit, the trees and their leaves. About 150 families live on the sale of palm juice alone, and people crowd in from different areas every day to drink it.

Imam Ali, an elderly resident, has been tapping palm trees for juice for 15 to 20 years. He collects twice a day, morning and afternoon, and gets 30 litres of sweet juice a day from two trees. In the afternoon he brings it to the local road lined with palms, where people gather from 4pm to 6pm, and many tappers like him sell there. A glass costs Tk 10 and a litre Tk 50.

"I tap the palms for juice in the four summer months and get 30 litres a day from two trees. At Tk 50 a litre I earn Tk 1,500 a day. As well as running a family of five, I can save money," Imam Ali said.

Sunnat Ali of Jojpara in Kakiladah said the first palm trees in the village were planted about 70 years ago by Haji Daud Ali, an educated and knowledgeable man, along several roads and on his own land. Others followed his example, and the village now has more than 15,000 palm trees.

Palm juice traders Akkas Ali and Shawkat Ali said their village shows that palm trees can earn lakhs of taka. Many families live by selling juice, green and ripe fruit and leaves in the summer, earning several crore taka between them. On average 15,000 litres of juice are produced a day, and whatever goes unsold is made into palm molasses and patali.

Landowners with palm trees also lease them out for a few months, getting Tk 1,000 per tree.

Rakibul Islam, who lives and works in Kuwait, said: "I have been abroad a long time. Coming home, I see palm juice being sold every day in Kakiladah. The village's name has spread everywhere, and many people come daily for the juice because it is so tasty."

Rafiqul Islam, founder of the Justice Dr Radha Binod Pal Model School, said there is no denying that palm trees are friends of the environment and of people. Palms are planted in the area every year, and a seed simply grows into a tree with little care.

He said the area's people earn more than about a crore taka a year from palm trees, a big contribution to the economy. "And because of the palm trees, no one in this area has died from lightning in living memory. Palm trees have been damaged, but we have never seen a person harmed," he said. Palm trees, he added, help keep the environment in balance and have become a major source of income.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.