Scanty rainfall delays paddy transplantation in Kangra

Rajiv Mahajan
Nurpur, July 25

Scanty rains have hampered paddy transplantation in Nurpur, Jawali, Fatehpur and Indora in Kangra district. Farmers are a harried lot, as they had grown paddy in nurseries a month ago and it is the time to transplant the nursery plants in the fields.

In the past, the farmers used to transplant the paddy crop in the first week of July, but this year, farmers are still waiting for adequate rain. The lower Kangra area is rain-fed and farmers are dependent on the rains for paddy cultivation. The paddy-growing fields are in low-lying moist areas where only this crop can be grown during the rainy season. The farmers have ploughed their fields more than once, but scanty rain in the past fortnight has delayed paddy transplantation.

Subhash Singh, Diwan Singh, Sardari Lal, all residents of Kopra village; Ashok Singh, Chain Singh and Rashpal, all residents of Lagor, say that the paddy nurseries in their area are overgrowing and have started fading away. They add that adequate rains are urgently required this week so that paddy transplantation can be undertaken.

Suresh Singh Pathania of the Kangra District Bharatiya Kisan Union says that insufficient rain has disappointed thousands of farmers in the region, as paddy farming is considered their main financial support.

Sources in the Agriculture Department say that paddy farming in Nurpur, Indora, Fatehpur and Nagrota Surian agricultural blocks is being undertaken in over 6,000 hectares.