Paddy transplantation finally begins

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 15

The transplantation of paddy kicked off in the district today. As per the Agricultural Department officials, there is total 2,55,000 hectare area under paddy and basmati cultivation in the district.

Farmers were seen preparing their fields for paddy transplantation and labourers were seen transplanting the crop to the fields.

The state government had ordered to start paddy transplantation from June 15, but the statements of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials confused farmers. Senior PSPCL officials had announced to provide 8-hour power supply for tube wells from June 10 instead of June 15. A number of farmers in the district started paddy transplantation before June 15 and the Agriculture Department took strict action against those farmers.

The state government put a ban to transplant paddy before June 15 to prevent ground-water depletion. The police can register a case against a farmer for violating the ban order on the complaint of the Agriculture Department officials.

Sukhpal Singh Sekhon, Chief Agriculture Officer, said: “Some farmers started paddy transplantation on June 10. We did not lodge any complaint to the police in this regard. We kept a check and ploughed such fields, where the ban was violated. Farmers are well aware of the crisis of water depletion and most of them agreed to transplant the nursery after June 15.”

The Agriculture Department officials ploughed 15 acre area for paddy in the district, transplanted before the recommended date. NP Singh, Chief Engineer (Central Zone), PSPCL, today during a press conference, said eight-hour uninterrupted power supply would be provided to farmers during the paddy season.