Faridkot farmers start removing wet paddy stubble manually

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, November 10

After a mild to heavy rain on Friday, many small and marginal farmers are struggling to handle wet crop residue in their fields which they can’t burn now.

To prepare their fields for wheat sowing, many farmers have started removing wet straw by using manual hay rakes.

According to farm experts, the ideal time for sowing wheat is by November 15. Any delay after that means a loss of 1.5 quintal per acre per week, said the experts.

Farmers said after the rain, high-moisture content in the stubble had made it quite difficult to set it on fire.

High moisture leads to incomplete combustion of straw, thus enhancing emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, said officials of the Agriculture Department.

Meanwhile, the Faridkot police have registered 26 cases under Section 188 of CrPC (violation of prohibitory orders) in the past two days for burning stubble, but the accused have been nominated in only six cases.

After some government officials faced harassment at the hands of farmers in Bathinda over farm fires, not only civil officials, but the police were also avoiding direct confrontation with farm unions and not naming defaulting farmers in the FIRs, revealed sources in the police.

According to official records, Faridkot district has reported 1,032 stubble-burning incidents so far.

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