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Punjab: Farmers gherao govt team over paddy straw mgmt
The farmers said even if they don’t burn stubble, the government won’t bother to ensure timely purchase of the bales. They further said that if they incorporate the straw back into the soil, the next crop may be at risk for the pink borer pest.
Farmers under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) gheraoed a government team that had come to discuss paddy straw management in Sangur’s Laddi village on Sunday.
The farmers said even if they don’t burn stubble, the government won’t bother to ensure timely purchase of the bales. They further said that if they incorporate the straw back into the soil, the next crop may be at risk for the pink borer pest.
“We gheraoed the team that had come to discuss the stubble-burning ban as the police and administration officials have been taking pictures of our fields for the last few days without offering any solution,” said Jagtar Singh, a farmer of Laddi village in Sangrur. “There is also no provision for managing the paddy straw, and the necessary machinery remains unavailable,” he added.
He said the government never compensated them for last year’s pink borer infestation. “Now, after incessant rains, the viruses have again reduced our harvest this year, causing huge losses,” Singh said.
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Sukhdev Singh confirmed that the protest began when the police were attempting to prevent the farmers from burning stubble. “The protesters stopped the police officers and demanded to know the solutions and alternatives available for straw management, while sharing their concern about the pink borer,” said the DSP.
He added that the protest lasted for approximately two to three hours, starting at 1.30 pm before being called off. The farmers were convinced about the guidelines of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court of India regarding the prohibition of stubble burning. They were advised to utilise both in-situ and ex-situ formulas for effective paddy straw management.
Similar scenes were also witnesses in Jagjitpura village of Barnala district, where farmers gheraoed officers who came to stop them from stubble burning.
BKU Ekta Dakaunda district president Darshan Singh Ugoke and BKU Ugrahand leader Darshan Singh Cheema said that one of the farmers in the village was left with no option but to burn stubble. When other farmers learnt that officials, led by the Tapa DSP, had arrived at the spot, they reached there. The union leaders said that the government officials were nowhere to be seen when their crops were hit by floods but they were prompt in their action against farm fires. The union further said that action against any farmer would not be tolerated. “If action is taken against farmers, we will protest by filling trolleys with stubble and setting them on fire in front of the DSP and DC offices,” said the farmer leaders.
