Produce of farmers sowing paddy before time will not be procured

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 12

On the directions of the Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab, Kahan Singh Pannu, the Director, Agriculture, Dr Jasbir Singh Bains, today convened a meeting with the block agriculture officers and other members of the field staff.

Dr Bains said to arrest the depleting level of underground water, the state government has issued Punjab Preservation of Sub Soil Water Act, 2009, notification making it mandatory not to sow paddy before June 20. The main aim is to check the continuous depletion of underground water that is receding at 50 cm every year.

Agriculture officers were directed to appeal to farmers not to sow paddy before June 20. If a farmer does not abide by the government rules, then the tubewell connections to his fields will be cut off. Also, the produce of such farmers will not be procured in the market and it can be destroyed any time before the crop ripens.

He directed the field officers to prepare a list of farmers sowing paddy before June 20. For this, the officers will coordinate with the respective SDMs and DSPs.

He stated that the irrigation department has been directed to complete its maintenance work from June 1 to June 18 when the canals remain closed. He also appealed to the farmers to clean the drains in their areas to get proper irrigation supply.

The PSPCL has been directed to maintain and update its feeders from June 1 to June 20 so that the farmers can be provided uninterrupted power supply for eight hours.

Chief Agriculture Officer, Bathinda, Dr Guraditta Singh Sidhu asserted that sowing paddy in the district will be done after June 20 only. He said already officials of the department have destroyed paddy nursery sown in four acres of land in Dyalpura Mirza, Bhodipura and some other villages.

The department is making the farmers aware through serial-wise camps being held to create awareness and people at the village level have been involved in it. Besides, announcements are being made daily at village gurudwaras and temples. All these activities have been recorded through videography.

Besides the Agriculture Information Officer Dr Gurtej Singh, other officials from the block headquarters were also present at the meeting.

Record will be kept of those sowing paddy before June 20: Mansa DC

• Urging the farmers to take cognizance of the decreasing underground water level in the region, Deputy Commissioner, Mansa, Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal asked the farmers to abide by the state government's guideline of sowing paddy only after June 20. He also asked the farmers to prefer those varieties of paddy which take less time to ripen.
• Directing the agriculture department to hold camps and make the farmers aware, the DC said, "The fear of the farmers about the high moisture content in paddy sown after June 20, are unfounded. There are some varieties of paddy, approved by the Punjab Agriculture University, which ripen earlier than the other varieties and also have less stubble. Using these varieties will not only leave the farmers with ample time to manage paddy straw, but also put less pressure on water resources in the region.”
• Chief Agriculture Officer Paramjit Singh Brar said as per the directions of the state government, a record will be maintained of farmers found sowing paddy before June 20 and action will also be initiated against them.
• It is pertinent to mention that in Mansa district, under the patronage of farmer unions, several farmers began paddy transplantation on June 10. The farmer unions had announced support to the farmers and had also promised that they will not allow any agriculture department official to reach the fields to stop transplantation.the stabbing incident in the college was the fallout of a fight that took place at a religious place in Sector 45 a few days ago.