CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann urged farmers to use direct seeding of rice (DSR) technology in large quantities during the current Kharif season in order to successfully control the rapidly depleting water table.

Mann chaired a meeting of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) led by its coordinator Darshan Pal here, seeking inputs from representatives of 23 farmers' organisations present to suggest to the state government that the agriculture sector be provided with staggered power supply, allowing farmers to sow paddy using the DSR technique and conventional paddy transplantation.

The proposed staggered power supply, according to the Chief Minister, will assist prevent peak loads during the paddy sowing season. He also proposed partitioning the state into four zones and ensuring equal power delivery through PSPCL based on regional demand. Mann also told the officers to go to villages and encourage farmers to use the DSR technique to save water and electricity during the paddy season.

Earlier, the Bharti Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan, led by its President Joginder Singh Ugrahan, paid a visit to the Chief Minister at his residence, soliciting his thoughts on the DSR technique's promotion.

Concerned about the findings of a study conducted by PAU experts, the Chief Minister stated that it is past time to switch from paddy transplantation to the environmentally friendly and economically viable DSR technique, which would save ground water by up to 15-20%, improve underground water recharging by 10-15%, and save nearly Rs 3,000 per acre on input costs, including labour.

Mann encouraged farmers to diversify their agriculture by sowing alternative crops such as sugarcane, maize, pulses, and oil seeds, and assured them that the state government would soon take up the issue of giving MSP on these crops with the government, adding that state agencies such as Markfed would be involved in procurement of alternative crops on the MSP.

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