Will make all-out efforts to make paddy straw burning free by next year: Punjab CM
Darpan News Desk IANS, 04 Nov, 2022 10:41 AM
New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said the state government will leave no stone unturned for making state free from paddy straw burning by coming year.
Interacting with the mediapersons here, the Chief Minister, accompanied by his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, said the state government is working on a multi-pronged strategy and has already roped in agriculture experts and the farmers unions for working out a viable solution for this problem.
He said already the government has given 1.20 lakh machines for the in-situ management of the paddy straw. Mann said this is problem of the entire north India, and the Union government must intervene for joint resolution of this matter by all aggrieved states.
The Chief Minister said the state is encouraging the farmers to adopt crop diversification. However, he said the Union government must give them remunerative minimum support price (MSP) for these crops.
Mann said this will help encouraging the farmers adopt alternate crops and solving this problem.
The Chief Minister said the farmers get time of 10-12 days between harvesting of paddy and sowing of wheat. He said in lack of any viable alternative, the farmers rely on a matchstick to solve the problem.
Mann said if the Centre provides solution for it, then the farmers will never burn the paddy straw.
The Chief Minister said the government has already encouraged farmers after thousands of panchayats had passed resolutions for not burning paddy straw. The country feels proud that in any year bumper crop has been produced.
However, Mann said "we forget that this has also enhanced the production of paddy straw too".
The Chief Minister said in Punjab, farmers cultivate paddy on 75 lakh hectares out of which the paddy straw is burnt over only on 40 lakh hectares.
He said the remaining farmers never indulge in such practice, which pollutes environment. Mann said the state government has set up a plant of bio energy production in Sangrur, adding more such plants will be set up across the state.
The Chief Minister reminded that Punjab farmers had played a major role in making the country self-reliant in food production.
He said they had submitted a detailed solution for the paddy straw burning by offering to jointly pay financial assistance to farmers worth Rs 2,500 in lieu of not burning paddy straw.
However, he said instead of accepting this proposal, the Centre had "blatantly refused" to bail out the farmers.
Likewise, Mann said in order to provide a viable solution for management of paddy straw, a large number of investors wanted to come to the state and set up bio energy plants.
The official informed that they received a call about the fire incident around 5.00 a.m. at the Main Tikona Park, Jamia Nagar in South-East Delhi after which as many as 11 fire tenders were immediately pressed into service. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
The BSF is interrogating the arrested smugglers. This is the second major incident of drugs being caught on the border in the last one week. Earlier also drug was dropped into India by using drones.
Donning T-shirts with pictures of Moosewala printed on them with the message 'Legends never die', some of the fans gathered to attend the 'bhog' ceremony of the singer.
A spokesperson for the police said on May 19, 10 days before the killing of Moosewala, it had already sent the proposal to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to issue Red Corner notice against Brar, which will pave the way for his extradition to India.
The accused was identified as Sidhesh Hiraman Kamle, alias Mahakaal. "He was arrested in a joint operation conducted by a team of Special Cell and Maharashtra Police," Special Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, H.S. Dhaliwal, said.
Those arrested have been identified as Sandeep Singh, alias Kekda of Sirsa, Haryana; Manpreet Singh, alias Manna of Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda; Manpreet Bhau of Dhaipai, Faridkot; Saraj Mintu of Dode Kalsia village, Amritsar; Prabhdeep Sidhu, alias Pabbi of Takhat-Mall, Haryana; Monu Dagar of Rewli village in Sonipat, Haryana; Pawan Bishnoi and Naseeb, both residents of Fatehabad, Haryana.
