B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Biamass power plant to end stubble burning
Fazilka, October 15
The burning of paddy stubble in fields will soon be a matter of the past in Fazilka district. 

Bundles of paddy stubble at a bio-fuel collection centre at Jandwala Kharta village in Fazilka. Photo by writer

18 per cent of last year’s paddy still lying in Moga rice mills
Moga, October 15
As much as 18 per cent of paddy from the last year’s stock is still lying in the rice mills for custom milling even as the new crop of paddy has started arriving in the grain markets in the Moga district.

Sekhon takes stock of procurement process 
Ferozepur, October 15
The paddy arrival in the grain markets in the district has gained momentum during the last few days with almost 50,000 MT of paddy arriving daily. Though the daily lifting capacity is reportedly 35,000 MT, still, the district administration has managed to lift almost 85 per cent of the procured paddy so far.


Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon at a grain market in Ferozepur. A Tribune photograph

Biamass power plant to end stubble burning
Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, October 15
The burning of paddy stubble in fields will soon be a matter of the past in Fazilka district. A biomass-based co-generation power plant has been set up in Fazilka Cooperative Sugar Mills in which the paddy stubble, cotton sticks and other agricultural waste shall be used as fuel.

A private company A to Z Infrastructure Pvt Ltd has entered into an agreement with Fazilka Cooperative Sugar Mills to set up a 15 MW co-generation power plant in mill complex at Bodiwala Pitha village, 15 km from here. The private company has entrusted the job of collecting biomass to its sister concern Multi-fuel Management Pvt Ltd. The major part of biomass fuel shall comprise paddy stubble and cotton sticks.

“The company has started collecting biomass fuel from farmers in the radius of about 25 km of the mill,” said Vikrant Sharma, area manager, adding that 400 tonnes of biomass fuel shall be consumed daily in the power plant.

The company would pick up residual stubble thereby clearing the field free of cost, added Sharma.

“This way, farmers will be able to save Rs 700 to 800 per acre,” said agricultural expert Satish Dhingra.

Another agricultural expert Prem Babbar said that during the burning of stubble in the fields, ‘friendly’ pests, which benefit the crops, also get killed. The fertility of the fields also gets decreased.

Vikrant Sharma said that his company has set up three fuel-collecting centres at Jandwala Kharta and Banwala Hanuwanta villages in Fazilka subdivision and at Azimgarh village near Abohar. The company has collected about 40,000 tonnes of biomass fuel against its target of around 1 lakh tonnes in the first phase. The company has also started purchasing cotton sticks from farmers at market rate, as some ‘hard’ fuel is also required to sustain the burning capacity of the power unit. “The farmers, from whose fields the stubble has been collected, are elated,” said a beneficiary Prem Kumar of Khui Khera village.

“The plant will cater to the power needs of the mill free of cost and supply power to the private sector while following the government-approved process,” said MS Sandhu, Managing Director of the mill.

The company shall also share 7 per cent of the profit with the mill, added Sandhu. He told The Tribune that the power co-generation plant was likely to start functioning by November 15.

If the biomass fuel-based co-generation power plant runs successfully, then it shall prove to be a milestone in Fazilka district and shall go a long way in preventing pollution and improving the power situation. 

18 per cent of last year’s paddy still lying in Moga rice mills
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, October 15
As much as 18 per cent of paddy from the last year’s stock is still lying in the rice mills for custom milling even as the new crop of paddy has started arriving in the grain markets in the Moga district.

Revealing this to The Tribune, Dr Sona Thind, District and Food Supplies Controller (DFSC), said over 90,000 metric tonnes of paddy has already arrived till Friday evening and the total arrival is expected to cross 10.5 metric tonnes in the district.

She said the government has made adequate arrangements for storage and transportation of the food grains. “We have a storage capacity of 13 lakh MT in the rice mills of the district. Therefore, there is nothing to worry as far as storage is concerned,” she said.

Dr Sona said there are 103 grain markets in the district and paddy has started arriving in all the markets.

“We are in regular touch with the farmers and the commission agents so as to avoid any problem in purchasing,” she said. She said that the government has allocated quota to 175 rice mills in the district and the assessment of the rest of the mills is in progress.

“As per the policy of the government, the defaulter rice mills will not be given any quota of paddy for milling,” she said.

It may be mentioned that a CBI case is pending against some rice mills, which have been blacklisted on the request of the investigating agency.

They would also be not getting any quota of paddy for milling, the DFSC added.

Meanwhile, Dr Ravi Kumar Sabbarwal, Chief Agriculture Officer and Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar, Agriculture Development Officer, revealed that paddy was sown in 1.69 hectares of land in the district and the quality of grains is good despite the inclement weather during the cropping season.

The pace of paddy arrival in the market would suddenly pick up in the next few days. “The pertaining dry weather conditions are very good for harvesting,” the agro officials added. 

Sekhon takes stock of procurement process 
Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, October 15
The paddy arrival in the grain markets in the district has gained momentum during the last few days with almost 50,000 MT of paddy arriving daily. Though the daily lifting capacity is reportedly 35,000 MT, still, the district administration has managed to lift almost 85 per cent of the procured paddy so far.

Ferozepur DC S. Karuna Raju said till date, 3.65 MT of paddy has been procured. Another three lakh MT would be procured in the coming week. He added that nine lakh MT of paddy was expected to reach the markets during this season. Amongst various procurement agencies, the Punsup has procured over one lakh MT of paddy followed by the Pungrain and Markfed, which have purchased around 85,000 MT each. Besides, the Punjab Warehousing Corporation has procured 52,000 MT while the Punjab Agro has bought 30,000 MT paddy in various grain markets of the district. Since the FCI entered the market late due to dispute with the state government over the mode of payment, it has purchased only 1,000 MT paddy so far, disclosed Raju.

Meanwhile, Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Irrigation Minister, along with district officials visited various grain markets in Shehzadi, Shakoor, Bhai Ka Wara, Mudki, Ferozshah, Talwandi Bhai, Kulgarhi, Sher Khan and Sandhe Hasham villages and instructed the officials to expedite the lifting of paddy in the Ferozepur cantonment grain market.