06 May 2022, Sangrur: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann earlier this week started a campaign for promotion of Direct Sowing of Rice (DSR) from his village Satauj. This method of paddy cultivation uses less amount of water.
Exhorting the farmers of his native village to go for this new technique of paddy sowing, the CM said that it is our duty to take path breaking initiatives like DSR for state’s overall development and prosperity.
Showing deep concern over the fast depleting groundwater, Bhagwant Mann said it is the need of hour to motivate our farmers to switch over from traditional paddy transplantation to the advanced technology of DSR. Moreover, it is a high time to adopt an alternate technique for paddy cultivation thus saving the much scarce and precious natural resource water.
“To promote the DSR technology, our government has also decided to provide financial assistance of Rs 1500 per acre to the farmers who adopt this water saving method of cultivating paddy” said CM Bhagwant Mann.
Calling upon the farmers of Satauj, Mann said that they will have to set an example for the entire Punjab by sowing paddy with DSR method on maximum area of land.
To encourage crop diversification in Punjab, the CM said that their government will provide MSP on alternative crops including maize, pulse and bajra and will sell the produce of these crops on their own responsibility.
The CM also assured the farmers that during the tenure of their government, they will be getting superior quality of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides.
To ease the power supply situation in the state, Bhagwant Mann said that there will be no problem of electricity supply as their government is going to resume mining of coal from Punjab’s allotted mine in Jharkhand which was shut since 2015. He pointed out further that with un-interrupted supply of coal, there will be normal supply of power for agriculture, domestic and industrial sector, as well.
