Scam likely to delay wheat sowing, say officials

Agriculture Dept staff meet CM

• Officials of the department on Friday held a meeting with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in Chandigarh and apprised him of the problems expected to surface in the sowing season, which will begin in a fortnight
• A senior officer said amid the pesticide row, department officials and a majority of the shopkeepers were going underground to save their skin

Atrchit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, October 9

The tightening of noose around officials of the Agriculture Department and pesticide dealers with regard to the pesticide scam is “likely to delay the sowing of wheat crop” this year. Worried over the situation, some officials of the department today held a meeting with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in Chandigarh and apprised him about the problems expected to come in the next sowing season, which will begin in a fortnight.

A senior officer of the department said they had even appealed to the Chief Minister that no innocent officer or pesticide dealer should be targeted, saying the wheat sowing season would begin from the last week of this month but department officials and a majority of the shopkeepers were going underground to save their skin.

“Private dealers are so harassed that very few of them would sell wheat seed this season. On the other hand, the department provides just about 25 per cent of the total seed required on subsidy. The state government must take some timely steps in this regard,” said a senior officer.

He said due to the current situation, district-level farmers’ awareness camps were also delayed. The department organises such district-level camps in September every year but this year, this is yet to be done in Muktsar district. Similarly, the holding of block-level and village-level camps, too, is getting delayed.

Dr Beant Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Muktsar, said, “The camps will be held once the farmers are able to spare some time from the harvest of their paddy crop.”

Department officials are also worried that the whitefly might also cause damage to the wheat crop.

Courtesy: The Tribune