Direct seeding of rice starts from CM Bhagwant Mann's village

Chandigarh, May 16

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The direct seeding of rice (DSR) has been kicked off from Satoj, the village of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. On Sunday, farmers from Satoj village committed to saving the state’s water by adopting DSR. On this occasion, Agriculture Department officials and CM Mann’s mother Harpal Kaur were also present.

While visiting his native town Satoj a few days ago, Mann urged farmers to adopt the direct seeding of paddy this year. CM Mann had appealed to the people of his village: “I want the people of my village to start saving Punjab’s water.”

Excellent step

We have lived our life, but our children will question us about the groundwater level. The government and farmers have taken an excellent step to save water. —Harpal Kaur, CM Mann’s mother

It will set a positive example throughout Punjab, as if the farmers in CM Mann’s village try to save the valuable ground water, the rest of the farmers will follow suit. He claimed if this effort began in our village, the entire Punjab would rally to save water. The Chief Minister has announced, farmers who sow paddy directly will receive

Rs 1,500 incentive and MSP on moong and basmati, as well as a guarantee from the Punjab Government to purchase these crops.

Punjab’s main agricultural crops are wheat and paddy. Farmers, generally, sow paddy by flooding their fields with water, which has resulted in a reduction in groundwater levels in Punjab. Punjab’s average groundwater level has dropped to 170 feet. In order to conserve groundwater, Mann is urging farmers to plant alternate crops or paddy in a way that uses less water.