Not all Sangrur farmers to blame for stubble-burning, some show the green way

Parvesh Sharma

Sangrur, November 1

At a time when Sangrur farmers are earning bad name for high number of stubble-burning cases, there are many growers in the district, who have not been burning stubble for last many years and also running a campaign against putting the fields on fire.

“For the past 11 years, I have not burnt stubble but managing it in my all 17 acres of land. PAU reports show that the health of our land has improved due to non-burning of stubble. Earlier I used to mixed stubble in land, but now I am using mulching technique, said Daljinder Singh of Chathe Nakte village.

Another farmer, Dharminder Singh from Ugrahan, said he has not burnt the stubble since 2007 and has also been managing stubble without burning. “By doing so, per acre production of my crops has increased and my expenses of sowing have also come down,” he said.

Farmers from various villages told The Tribune that the burning of stubble not only damages the health of soil, but was expensive also. After burning the stubble, the sowing cost increases as they have to plough their field at least three-four times. But without burning of fields and through Happy Seeder, farmers are able to sow wheat per acre with just 5-6 litres of diesel (used to run their tractors to plough field).

Another farmer Jaspreet Singh from Loharmajra village said he had been sowing crops in over his 21 acres without putting his fields on fire for eight years now. He said farmers should contribute to protect the environment.