Further taking its battle against stubble burning menace to grassroots by educating the peasantry about harmful effects of practices which may worsen the Covid situation, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ghanshyam Thori today flagged off three awareness vans to sensitize the farmers.Flagging off the vans from district administrative complex, DC accompanied by Chief Agriculture Officer Dr. Surinder Singh, Agriculture Officer Dr. Naresh Gulati, said that the vans have been fitted with audio messages and will sensitise people about hazardous effects of the burning of paddy stubble.He said the paddy stubble was useful for the farmers and it should not be burnt at any cost as farm residue could play an important role in enhancing the fertility of the soil. He said burning of stubble poses a danger to the environment and must be avoided at every cost.
He said that these ultra-modern vans would be instrumental in awakening the farmers about the need for paddy straw management.The Deputy Commissioner said that besides the audio messages, vans would also disseminate information to the farmers through the pamphlets and posters for making them aware of the pollution caused by paddy burning beside the ways and means of managing the paddy straw effectively. Besides, as many as 900 wall paintings would be carried out in the villages with 90 awareness paintings in each block.The Deputy Commissioner also reiterated that instead of burning the paddy straw the farmers must use farm implements for efficaciously tackling the menace of stubble burning in the district thereby making the district pollution-free.He said that the Punjab government has been providing huge subsidies to the farmers for purchasing the ultra-modern equipment that could be useful in effective paddy straw management.He said that due to the burning of paddy straw several major nutrients and other micronutrients of soil were destroyed whereas the soil health improves drastically if the residue of straw was mixed in the soil.