Use of straw as fuel banned in factories

Amritsar, May 1

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In view of the shortage of straw for livestock, Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh Sudan has banned its use as fuel in factories, besides sale out of the state.

It came to my notice that due to shortage of straw, dairy farmers have been facing difficulty in getting the crop residue resulting in surge of its price. Big factories, which are equipped with boilers, are also using straw as fuel. This is also causing scarcity in the open market. So, the use of straw as fuel in factories has been prohibited. — Harpreet Singh Sudan, DC

The district administration took the sweeping measure as a quintal of straw was available between Rs 700 and Rs 1,000 in the urban and rural areas of the district. The same quantity of straw was available from Rs 400 to Rs 500 last summer.

Sudan said it came to his notice that due to shortage of straw, dairy farmers had been facing difficulty in getting the crop residue resulting in a surge in its price. He said it also came to notice that big factories, which were equipped with boilers, used straw as fuel. This was also causing scarcity of straw in the open market. So, he prohibited the use of straw as fuel in factories, Sudan added.

All this is causing undue harassment to dairy farmers who are finding it tough to afford straw at this high rate for their livestock. It has caused resentment among farmers, who find their voice unheard. Besides, any imbalance of the equilibrium will hamper the supply chain of milk, which is the major source of nourishment among people in general and children in particular.

The DC, using the powers vested under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Amritsar, 1973, prohibited moving straw from the border district to outside Punjab. Manjit Singh, a farmer from Bhilowal village, felt that a good proportion of farmers did not stock sufficient amount of straw, which was led to scarcity this summer.