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Rains flatten standing paddy crop in Fazilka
To study uranium in Punjab’s soil & water |
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Farmers protest against slow lifting of paddy
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Rains flatten standing paddy crop in Fazilka
Fazilka, October 16 "Standing paddy crop in 14 acres of land, which we have taken on lease, has been flattened," said Anil Kumar, a farmer of village Mohammad Pira in Fazilka sub-division. "There is apprehension of extensive loss and fall in yield as the combine can not harvest the flattened crop as the grain falls on the ground," said Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) GS Cheema. "The quality of the grain can also deteriorate due to the flattening of the crop," admits Cheema. "The cost of input is also likely to increase as the combine consumes more time to harvest the crop as it does not move straight and steady due to the flattened crops," said another agriculturist Satish Dhingra. According to official sources, the late sown fine variety of 1121 basmati paddy has been hit hard. Notably, basmati variety is cultivated in about 42,000 hectares of land in Fazilka district and it is considered to be one of the largest producers of basmati. "There is an apprehension that the yield may dip by 30 per cent,” said another affected farmer, RC Batra of Karnikhera village who has sown basmati on 10 acres. However, ADO Cheema primarily assessed the loss as ranging between 10 to 15 per cent. "The government should immediately order a special girdawri (assessment of loss) of the damaged crop so that the farmers may be compensated suitably," demanded Surinder Kamra of village Kotha and Satnam Singh of village Rana, both farmers. Quote unquote There is an apprehension of extensive loss and fall in yield as the combine cannot harvest the flattened crop as the grain falls on the ground. — GS Cheema Agriculture Development Officer The cost of input is likely to increase as the combine harvesters consume more time to harvest the crop as they do not move straight and steady due to flattened crops. — Satish Dhingra, an agriculturist The government should immediately order a special girdawri (assessment of loss) of the damaged crop so that farmers may be compensated suitably. — Surinder Kamra, a farmer |
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To study uranium in Punjab’s soil & water
Faridkot, October 16 On Tuesday, she visited Jai Singh Wala and Bhuttiwala villages to meet the farmers. A scientific adviser to the German Medical Association of Clinical Metal Toxicology, Dr Busch said while medical toxicology was an emerging branch of medicine in Europe and America, it grabbed special attention in Punjab due to the highly polluted environment because of high uranium and concentration of heavy metals in soil and water due to the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. Dr Busch said the chemical fertilizers being used in Punjab contain various impurities. These are mostly derived from raw materials used in their manufacture and many of these impurities accumulate in soils or plants, adversely affecting the health of plants or grazing animals and potentially affect the food safety. As there are no regulatory controls on fertilizers, so it pollutes the food chain. The manifestation of toxicity in Punjab is visible in the increasing prevalence of cancer, genetic mutation, hormonal disruption, reproductive health disorders, declining immunity, autoimmune disorders, allergies and others compared to 50 years earlier, said Dr Amar Singh Azad, a senior doctor and Chander Prakash, a professor from Punjab Technical University (PTU), who accompanied Dr Busch. In Punjab, a large number of those pesticides, which are banned in advanced countries, are being used excessively. The high level of cadmium, arsenic and uranium are due to the excessive use of phosphate fertilizers in Punjab, she said. In most advanced countries, including Germany, phosphate fertilizers are free of cadmium and in some countries, maximum allowable concentration of cadmium and other heavy metals is allowed. But these pasture fertilisers are not recommended for use in vegetable crops. There is no parameter to control the heavy metals in Punjab, she said. Though these potentially harmful impurities can be removed, it significantly increases the cost which the manufacturers never prefer, she said. The simple fact is that many chemicals that are marketed as safe for humans are later found to be harmful, she said while citing the example of DDT and EDB that were marketed in the 1950s as an insecticide and a post-harvest fumigant for fruits, vegetables and grains, said Dr Busch. “In the coming days, I'm holding meetings with the senior authorities of all universities in Punjab so that there could be an effective launch of campaign to educate the people for corrective measures,” she said. |
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Farmers protest against slow lifting of paddy
Muktsar, October 16 The protesting farmers accused the state government of making poor arrangements to lift paddy and raised slogans. At Mahuana village, the farmers squatted on the road at about 8:15 am and continued their protest till 10:15 am. Meanwhile, the farmers of Aulakh village blocked the road between 1 pm to 2 pm. Sukhdev Singh, joint secretary, Bharati Kissan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) said, "The state government has so far failed to lift paddy from the mandis and as a result, the farmers are suffering. No space is left in the markets to bring in more produce." —
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Monday evening extensively damaged the standing crop of the 1121 variety of basmati paddy in Fazilka district.
Blaurock-Busch, scientific adviser to the International Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology (IBMT) and a member of he British Society of Ecological Medicine, is these days camping in Faridkot to evaluate the toxic burden of the people in Punjab.
