Ludhiana | PAU to hold offline kisan melas after two-year gap

The series would kickstart with the first Kisan Mela at Nag Kalan Jahangir, Amritsar on September 2, followed by Ballowal Saunkhri on September 6, Gurdaspur on September 9, Faridkot on September 13 and Rauni, Patiala, on September 16, Ludhiana on September 23 and 24 at PAU

After remaining suspended for over two years due to the pandemic, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is all set to organise offline Kisan Melas across Punjab.

During the pandemic too, PAU, Ludhiana, had made strenuous efforts to hold virtual Kisan Melas and had provided the latest information, knowledge and farm inputs at the farmers’ doorsteps, he added (HT FILE)

Announcing the dates, Ashok Kumar, director of extension education, PAU, said the series would kickstart with the first Kisan Mela at Nag Kalan Jahangir, Amritsar on September 2, followed by Ballowal Saunkhri on September 6, Gurdaspur on September 9, Faridkot on September 13 and Rauni, Patiala, on September 16.

The two-day mela on PAU campus, Ludhiana, will be organised on September 23 and 24, while the last mela will be held at Bathinda on September 29.

Kumar has called upon farmers to participate in the melas, along with their families, and make it a mega success.

Farmers would be provided a platform to see live demonstrations, interact with scientists, participate in crop produce and community science competitions, purchase quality seeds and planting material, and buy farm publications under one roof, he added.

During the pandemic too, PAU had made strenuous efforts to hold virtual Kisan Melas and had provided the latest information, knowledge and farm inputs at the farmers’ doorsteps, he added.

The biannual affair was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 outbreak and was held virtually in the months of March and September during the kharif and rabi season.

As the coronavirus cases were witnessing a receding trend, farmers were expecting that the university would hold a mela in March this year as the previous two experiments of virtual mela had witnessed lukewarm response. Farmers had also expressed their strong resentment before the PAU authorities for not holding the mela in March.

About Kisan Mela

PAU is the first agricultural institute in the country to initiate the concept of Kisan Melas. Started in 1967, these melas are regularly held twice a year at Ludhiana in March and September.

On this occasion, besides field demonstrations, an agro-industrial exhibition is also put up and farm produce competitions are held.

ISRO scientists deliver talks At Punjab Remote Sensing Centre

Two scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Rahul Nigam and Parmendra Pandey, delivered lectures at Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), on Tuesday. PRSC officials attended the talks as a part of an ongoing training course.

Pandey spoke on microwave remote sensing, which is used to assess soil moisture. He said remote sensing is useful for identification of suitable soil types for different crops. He added that it was through this technology that the percentage of soil moisture is studied through satellites for judicious use of water, on the basis of which the importance of irrigation was also assessed for various crops.

Nigam dwelt upon the use of satellite technology to study drought in addition to monsoons and floods in diverse areas. He also shared measures for weather prediction.

Brijendra Pateriya, director of PRSC, thanked the scientists for sharing their knowledge.