Govt concerned only about paddy farmers, rue veggie & fruit growers

Manmeet Singh Gill

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Amritsar, May 15

With the state government announcing the schedule for paddy transplantation and assuring farmers of providing them an eight-hour regular electricity supply for tubewells, vegetable and fruit growers have demanded that there is a need to watch the interests of other farmers too.

They said on the one hand, the government was encouraging farmers to reduce the area under paddy crop as it required more water, but on the other, the electricity and canal water supply schedules were made as per the needs of paddy growers only.

Harjinder Singh, a vegetable grower, said, “At present, most of the fruit and vegetable crops are in flowering stage and these require water twice every week.” He said the shortage of water for irrigation would badly affect the yield. He said the needs of other farmers should also be addressed.

Apart from a regular eight-hour electricity which would be given in Tarn Taran district after June 16 and in Amritsar district after June 19, the water in the canal irrigation channels is also released as per the needs of paddy cultivators. The state government has allowed paddy transplantation in Tarn Taran after June 16 and in Amritsar after June 19.

The farmers demanded that at least a four-hour power supply should be made available during all seasons so that farmers could be encouraged to cultivate vegetable and fruit crops. Harman Singh from Jandiala, another farmer, said, “The power supply remained shut during the daytime during wheat harvesting time to avoid fire accidents.” He added that even now sometimes the power supply was being given in the night, which causes flooding in vegetable fields.

Lakhbir Singh Nizampura, president, Vegetable Growers’ Association, said, “PSPCL supply power to the areas which are known as vegetable belts. But problems are faced by farmers who sow vegetable crops outside these belts.”