Chandigarh, April 11:
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann will have a direct dialogue with the farmers of the state during first of its kind ‘Sarkar-Kisan Milni’ slated to take place at Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana on April 12 to save the precious groundwater of the state by promotion of less water guzzling varieties of paddy.
The Kisan Milni will be held at PAU on Saturday in which more than 1100 farmers are likely to take part. Several stalls will be installed during the Sarkar Kisan Milni to make the farmers aware about several initiatives being taken by the state government. The special Sarkar Kisan Milni will focus on making the farmers aware about cultivation of paddy before the starting of paddy season.
During the Milni the farmers will be apprised about the innovative and less water guzzling techniques of paddy transplant and the focus will be on motivating the farmers to use only the high yielding varieties of paddy approved by the PAU. The farmers will also be informed that in order to avoid complications to the farmers in selling their paddy harvest due to high moisture content in October, the state government has decided to advance the paddy cultivation season from June 1. For this zone wise cultivation of the paddy crop will be ensured in the state and necessary planning and arrangements are already being made by the Punjab government for this motive.
The state has been divided into zones to implement this sowing mechanism in an effective manner and the dates of paddy cultivation in a phased manner will be announced soon so that farmers can take benefit from it. The state government will rope in renowned agriculture experts to benefit the farmers during this Milni. The Milni will focus on saving the precious groundwater of the state on one hand and enhancing the income of the farmers on the other.
