Scanty rains hamper paddy transplantation in Kangra

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Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, July 21

Scanty monsoonal 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 was 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 were still waiting for adequate rains. The lower Kangra area is rain-fed and farmers are totally dependent upon 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 rains 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 monsoonal rains have disappointed thousands of farmers in the region, as paddy farming is considered as 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.