Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh today inaugurated one-day district level Exhibition- cum- Kissan Mela at New Fruit Mandi Kathua. The exhibition with theme “General awareness of farmers for profitable and sustainable farming” was organized under ATMA programme.Highlighting the importance of such exhibitions Dr Singh said to achieve the goal of doubling farmer’s income by 2022 organizing awareness programs is must, as was suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Dy CM said besides awareness adopting “integrated farming,” is also must for farmers to raise their income. He said ‘integrated farming’ is most suitable model for arid and rain fed areas with high potential of bringing sustainable economic benefits to them.Nirmal Singh said that for increase in income, besides other things farmers also require higher returns for their produce. He said to curb the black marketing practice and commission agents the State Government has started procurement centers along with agriculture credit facility.Dr. Nirmal Singh said various farmer centric schemes including Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Paradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) were launched for holistic development of the farmers.Advising farmers to get Soil Health Card, the DyCM said Soil Health Management in the state is promoted through soil and fertilizer testing laboratories. The people were informed that 90% soil of Kathua has been tested by the agriculture department and sampling is still going on and analysis is continuing.
Dr Nirmal Singh directed DC Kathua, Ramesh Kumar to identify a village in an arid area to make it a model village for drip-irrigation. He further directed the district administration to study the impact of various welfare schemes along with creating a database of the beneficiaries. The Dy CM also added that these functions should not become ritual but a platform to disseminate the latest techniques and information to the farmers. He also appealed to the farmers that nine days are still remaining to avail the opportunity of General Amnesty scheme for domestic electricity consumers as the scheme was extended up to 31st March,2017.Directions were also given to Executive Engineer PDD to pace up the process of distribution of LED bulbs as they are efficient source of saving electricity. The Dy CM said that soon farmers would get a major relief as there would be a dedicated power line for their water pumps, along with less power consuming subsidized water pumps.He assured the farmers that the state Government will leave no stone unturned to give maximum benefit for their crop.Earlier, the Dy CM visited all the stalls set up at the Mela and interacted with farmers and appreciated Agriculture department for organizing this mela.
The Dy CM, Dr Nirmal Singh also laid foundation stone for the construction of Night Shelter For Urban Homeless at New Bus Stand, Kathua. J&K Housing Board is executing the construction work of the shelter which is getting constructed at an estimated cost of 1. 75 cores.Vice Chairman J&K Advisory Board for development of Kissans, Daljeet Singh Chib said that tackling climate change and its potential impact also requires focused attention to safeguard farmers. He said given the drought and errant rainfall affecting farmers, the government’s step to create farm ponds that will work as a drought-proofing measure in gram panchayats is welcome, but everything depends on how well the schemes are executed on the ground.MLA Kathua, Rajeev Jasrotia welcomed the State Government`s decision of initiating Shahpur Kandi Project which will help the farmers of kandi area from Lakhanpur to Vijaypur, benefitting a major portion of Jammu region. The MLA also informed the DyCM that 24 crore project for modernizing the Kathua canal has been approved by NABARD and the work on the project will soon begin.DC Kathua Ramesh Kumar, SSP Kathua Pawan Parihar, CAO Kathua Nand Kishore Sharma, members of civil society and farmers in large numbers were present on the occasion.