Chandigarh, July 26
As the drought has started playing havoc with paddy and other crops in Punjab, the Union Government has deputed a high-level team to assess the situation in the state.
Informed sources today said that the team headed by Dr Joginder Singh, Additional Agriculture Commissioner of India, and other officers would start its two- day visit in Malwa belt tomorrow. Team will first land in Mansa district and then visit other parts of the Malwa, Doaba and Majha belt.
In fact, the team has been already left for Punjab after visiting various parts of Haryana today, official sources said. Dr Ajmer Singh, Director, Agriculture, Punjab, and other officers of the Agriculture Department will accompany the Central team to various parts of the state.
It is one of the worst droughts being faced by the state in the recent decades. Sources said that the rainfall in the state was minus 82mm during the month of July. The average rainfall recorded during the current month in the state is 33.6 mm till date against the normal rainfall 186.7mm. Even in year 2002, the 42.6 mm rainfall during July was better then this year. Last year, the rainfall during July was 138 mm.
The entire paddy crop transplanted over 24.5 lakh hectares is under stress in the state according to the Directorate of Agriculture, Punjab. “The crop is being saved by taking extra-ordinary measures by farmers with the support of state government and the Punjab State Electricity Board. Otherwise, natural conditions are totally against the paddy crop. The drought was playing the villain”, said Dr Ajmer Singh, who has submitted a detailed report to the state government today. Livestock is also suffering because of deterioration in the quality of green fodder in absence of rain. Fodder has become slightly bitter and it is not worth feeding the livestock.
As many 11,145 tubewells have gone dry in central districts. Most of the farmers have abandoned these tubewells. Nearly 61,00 tubewells have been converted from ordinary tubewells to submersible ones. The water-drawing efficiency of other tubewells has been affected up to 35 per cent as the water table is going down every day. Already, farmers have ploughed about 22 hectares of paddy.
Farmers would have to spend
additional Rs 5000 on every acre to save the paddy crop this year. In 2002, which was also drought year, the per acre cost tabulated was Rs 3000. In Punjab, most of the paddy crop depends on tubewell irrigation. The PSEB is under tremendous stress for the past several weeks to meet the power requirement of agriculture sector. In fact, the Punjab Government has diverting lot of power to farming sector from important sectors such as industry to save paddy crop. For how long will the PSEB’s transmission system, that is stretched to the full, sustain in existing circumstances? This is the question being debated by power experts in the board.
Informed sources said that the Punjab Government had started compiling the data to declare the state as drought-hit. In the past days, it has taken emergency steps to cope with the situation caused by the drought. More steps are expected to be taken in a day or so. The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, has knocked the door of the Union Power Ministry, for more allocation of power to the state from the national pool and other states. Punjab’s power subsidy to the agriculture sector might go beyond Rs 3000 crore this year if the existing conditions prevailed for a few days more.
