Paddy sown early destroyed

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, May 25

A few days after The Tribune published a report, ‘In Muktsar dist, paddy sowing on before date’, the Agriculture Department on Friday swung into action and destroyed paddy crop sown in advance in some fields.

Department officials said the state government had this year set June 10 as the date to begin sowing of paddy. Baljinder Singh Brar, Chief Agriculture Officer, Muktsar, said, “In all, 32 villages affected by waterlogging of the 236 villages in the district have been given an exemption by the state government and the farmers there can sow paddy a month in advance from the set date. However, the water table is decreasing in other parts of the state. So, the farmers are stopped from advanced sowing.”

Meanwhile, Karanjit Singh, project director, Agricultural Technology Management Agency, said, “The state government had delayed the sowing by five days from June 15 to June 20 this year to save the extra consumption of water. The state has 14 lakh tube well connections and the sowing delayed by five days will save 24 lakh million litres of water. If any farmer sows the paddy crop before the set date, strict action will be taken against him.”

Some famers start sowing early because they try to get two crops in the prevailing crop season. They first sow the ‘satthi’ variety which matures early and then the ‘1121’ basmati.