Patiala district starts preparations for straw management and stop stubble burning
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ June 30,2023
Deputy Commissioner ,Patiala Sakshi Sawhney today discussed with the Department of Agriculture, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Baler Association, straw-using industries and farmers to devise a strategy to ensure maximum utilization of the machinery available in the district for straw management within the district. Additional Deputy Commissioner Anuprita Johal was also present in the meeting.
The Deputy Commissioner said that paddy is grown in an area of 2 lacs 31 thousand hectares in the Patiala district, from which about 14 lakh metric tons of straw is produced, out of which about 2 lakh metric tons of straw is used in industries with ex-situ technology.
She said that to increase straw utilization in concerned industries, the department has already started to coordinate with baler associations and others.
She asked the representatives of the Baler Association to share their schedule of visits to the villages with the district administration before the paddy harvesting season so that the concerned departments can make the farmers aware of the ex-situ technology.
Deputy Commissioner said that if the baler owners need a place to store the straw bales, then the information should be shared with the district administration in this regard so that a strategy can also be prepared to provide land for storage.
She said that the portal is open to get machinery on subsidy, interested farmers can apply and contact the Department of Agriculture for more information.
Sakshi Sawhney asked the representatives from the straw utilization industries to contact the baler owners regarding their requirements now so that the bales accumulated in the fields can be cleared simultaneously and the fields can be ready for the next crop.
She said that while the industries will be benefited from the cooperative work, every section of the society including the baler owners and farmers will benefit by preventing stubble from catching fire.
DC Said that the farmers have to change their thinking to save their life, environment and earth to save the stubble without setting it on fire or plough it into the ground. She also sought the difficulties and suggestions of the representatives.
Patiala district starts preparations for straw management and stubble burning. During the meeting RTA Babandeep Singh Walia, Chief Agriculture Officer Gurnam Singh, Navneet Kaur from DIC, Arvinder Singh, Ravinder Singh, Officers of Pollution Control Board, Cooperative Societies including Patiala RNG, Hindustan Unilever, Nabha Power using briquettes Plant Rajpura, A&P Energy Solutions and SPS. Officials from related departments like Eco-Friendly Fuel Samana, PepsiCo, and Baler Association were also present in the meeting.
