Straw burning goes on unabated in Mansa

Even as a ban on stubble burning continues to be in force, farmers continue to violate it with impunity. On Wednesday, members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan), set paddy stubble on four acre on fire at Bhaini Bahga village in the district.

Ram Singh, a member of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), said, “We are not interested in burning paddy straw. We are forced to do so as we don’t have any alternative,” adding, “If the Centre is not ready to pay incentives, then the state government should listen to the farmers of the state.”

Another plaint of farmers is that the machine, happy seeder, used for sowing wheat without burning paddy residue, is compatible with tractors with low horsepower.

Bogh Singh, 55, Mansa farmer, who has sown 5 acre of paddy, said, “A small farmer cannot affford to buy a happyseeder. Even if a group of them manages to buy it, they do not have the powerful tractors to attach it for working in the fields. Only landlords who own tractors with more than 50,000 horse power can actually use the happy seeder.”

Some farmers are sitting on dharna outside the district administrative complex here, seeking ₹300 per quintal from the state government to manage the paddy straw without burning.

Expressing ignorance of any stubble burning cases under his jurisdiction, chief agriculture officer, Gurmail Singh, said, “No case of stubble burning have been reported. Some farmers have started taking their paddy residue to conversion plants at Khokhar village.”

STUDENTS BECOME BRAND AMBASSADORS OF DRIVE

of schools from rural areas across the state on Friday became the ambassadors of ‘anti-stubble burning campaign’ of the Punjab government to sensitise farmers about the need of conserving the environment.

Agriculture secretary KS Pannu said lakhs of school children participated in rallies organised in various villages to disseminate the message of clean, green and pollution-free Punjab.