Farmers ready for advance sowing, no notification yet

Aman Sood and Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Patiala/ Jalandhar, June 2

Nearly a month after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announced that farmers would be allowed to sow paddy a week earlier than the scheduled date of June 20, a notification in this regard is yet to be released. Meanwhile, the decision is likely to deplete the already falling underground water table.

Nevertheless, farmers as well as all departments concerned have made arrangements to sow paddy from June 13, claiming that a formal notification will be issued this week. Already farmer unions have been demanding that paddy be allowed to be sown by the first week of June to give them more window period before wheat season.

Sutantar Airi, Director, Agriculture, said the notification could be in process, but he had yet not got a copy of it. “The agriculture department is with the CM. Since he made the announcement, the notification will surely be on way,” he said. The CM had declared advancement of paddy sowing during an election rally at Khatkar Kalan on May 4, but a notification could not come around that time owing the election code.

Sources say a formal notification is awaited, but verbal instructions have been passed to all departments concerned to be ready from June 13.

While some are calling the change in paddy sowing schedule as a politically motivated decision which could further affect the water table, most farmers are happy with the change. Farmer Jagjit Singh of Sammipur village says, “Late sowing of paddy spoils the schedule of other crops too. Even the moisture content in the ripened paddy was found to be more when we harvested it around November.”

Environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal is of the opinion that the entire situation will depend on rainfall. “If it starts raining early, it can be good otherwise not. In any case, we all know that the late sown varieties of paddy are of better quality and more remunerative too,” he said. Meanwhile, the PSPCL had started making arrangements to meet the demand which is expected to touch 13,500 MW during peak summer.

Won’t wait even till June 13: Unions

• Bathinda: Farmers have started transplantation of paddy in Mansa even as the state government has already advanced sowing by a week. Taking benefit of rain that lashed the district on Saturday, farmers in various villages transplanted paddy in their fields. 
• Farmer unions have constituted units in villages, which will keep a vigil on the transplanted paddy to prevent officials from uprooting it. Last year officials had taken a strict action against farmers defying late sowing orders and ploughed their fields.
• Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Urgahan) district president Ram Singh Bhaini Bagha said, “Farmers should not fear from the order of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh of starting paddy transplantation from June 13.”  Sukhmeet Bhasin

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