Ludhiana DC flags off awareness van to sensitise farmers against stubble burning

The awareness van, equipped with a LED TV, was flagged off under the NABARD’s campaign against paddy straw burning.

With an aim to sensitise farmers on the ill-effects of burning stubble, Ludhiana deputy commissioner (DC) Varinder Kumar Sharma on Tuesday flagged off an awareness van, which will cover maximum villages of the district to spread the awareness among farmers against paddy straw burning.

Deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma flagging off the awareness van to sensitise farmers against stubble burning in Ludhiana on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

The awareness van, equipped with a LED TV, was flagged off under the NABARD’s campaign against paddy straw burning.

Sharma, while appreciating the efforts of NABARD to create awareness against stubble burning, said that the administration has been making concerted efforts in these trying situations to defeat the coronavirus in the larger public interest. He once again appealed to the farmers to abstain from burning paddy stubble citing that besides polluting the environment, hazardous gasses might aggravate the Covid-19 situation and could cost lives.

Chairman of Zila Parishad, Yadwinder Singh, chief agriculture officer Narinder Singh Benipal, district development manager (DDM) NABARD, Sanjeev Kumar were also present on the occasion.

DDM Sanjeev Kumar said that NABARD, Punjab Regional Office, Chandigarh, has also launched a campaign against paddy straw burning through slogan writing/wall painting under the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) at villages of the district and is to be carried out throughout the 22 districts of Punjab covering almost all paddy growing areas/villages. “The objective of wall paintings is to create awareness and build the capacity of farmers for crop residue management and improve their knowledge and understanding about climate change,” he said.