Use paddy straw to generate electricity: Ludhiana DC to farmers
He said that selling the paddy straw instead of burning it can add to the farmers’ incomes
Deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma on Thursday urged farmers to generate electricity from paddy straw instead of burning it. The DC, accompanied by Khanna SDM Sandeep Singh Garha, visited Ganesh Edibles Pvt Ltd, situated on Amloh Road, that follows this practice.
While urging the farmers not to burn paddy straw, Sharma said that we all know that burning of paddy straw not only harms the environment but also causes several diseases.
He informed that Shri Ganesh Edibles Pvt Ltd collects paddy straw from around 35,000 acres of land in Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib districts and generates electricity from it. He said that the farmers can easily earn a handsome income by selling the paddy straw instead of burning it.
Hans Raj Garg, director of Shri Ganesh Edibles Pvt Ltd, informed that they pay around Rs 2,500-3,000 per acre to the farmers for paddy straw.
He informed that with the help of paddy straw, their company generates around 6,000 units of electricity per day, which can be extended further.
The deputy commissioner urged other corporate houses to come forward and help find a permanent solution to the problem of paddy straw burning by setting up such power plants on their premises to tackle the problem..
To ensure smooth paddy procurement operations in Ludhiana mandis, DC Varinder Kumar Sharma visited the Khanna and Doraha mandis to take stock of the arrangements.
He interacted with farmers, commission agents (arhtiyas), and officials to enquire about their problems related to purchasing. The DC also held a meeting with the arhtiyas at the Market Committee office in Khanna mandi. He assured the farmers that strict instructions had been issued to the officials to ensure that they do not face any problems in the mandis.
Sharma also expressed satisfaction over the ongoing paddy procurement and appealed to the farmers to bring produce within specifications of moisture content laid by the Government of India.
