Her love for nature made her go in for green farm practices

Dr Rupinder Kaur, daughter of late nambardar Mohinder Singh of Niyamatpur in Amargarh Assembly segment of Malerkotla district, is a young, energetic and dynamic farmer, who is proud of her journey from a college lecturer to full-time cultivator.

Besides inheriting seven acres from her father, Rupinder imbibed elements of love for nature and environment, including soil, water and air, and has been following guidelines of the National Green Tribunal by not burning agricultural waste, including stubble, for the last one decade.

“Having observed my late father Mohinder Singh perform social and constitutional duties of a nambardar despite being busy in agricultural chores and cattle rearing, I was tempted to share all his responsibilities along with my studies and teaching profession,” said Rupinder.

She said she had vowed to follow teachings of Guru Granth Sahib and prevent pollution of air, water and soil considering them ‘pawan Guru, paani pita, mata dharat mahat’. She claimed that the income from cultivation of paddy and wheat had increased as cost of inputs, including fertilisers and pesticides, had declined after she stopped stubble burning completely.

Rationalisation of labour cost has further helped her to enhance her annual income as workers are hired strictly according to necessity of agricultural chores. “Moreover, I don’t leave things to the convenience of labourers, rather I guide them with regard to planning of chores and supervise their execution,” she said.

Visiting daily to monitor progress of work from preparation of land, sowing or transplantation, weeding, spraying and harvesting was cited as the mantra behind her success. Rupinder is glad that the administration led by Deputy Commissioner Viraj S Tidkey had prompted many farmers to visit her fields and watch agricultural practices being conducted according to guidelines of Punjab Government and the NGT.

She is also a crusader for promotion of Punjabi as mother tongue as she had done doctorate in the subject after completing post-graduation in the language. Though she has resigned from her post as a Punjabi professor at a college in Nabha, she continues to help needy students during free time.