WHY ARE FARMERS UP IN ARMS?

Farmers are apprehensive that the five extra days will lead to delayed maturing of crop and fall in yield; and then the grain will have higher moisture content (than the acceptable norm of 17%), making it difficult to sell. “The paddy variety PUSA-44 grown by most farmers in the state takes 130 days to ripen. If transplanted on June 20, the harvest will be delayed till late October, when the night temperatures falls,” says Balbir Singh Rajewal, president of a faction of Bharatiya Kisan Union. PUSA-44 variety as “redundant”. Pannu says, “In the debate, we shouldn’t forget that the effort is to save subsoil water which is receding by 2.5 feet every year. The farmers should support the government on this.”