In a first of its kind initiative, district Fatehgarh Sahib is all set to emerge as a harbinger of water conservation and environment protection as Patiala Divisional Commissioner Chander Gaind today launched a pilot project at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College where Prime Minister Awardee Progressive Farmer Surjeet Singh delivered a keynote lecture to over 600 farmers.
Divulging the details, Commissioner Patiala Division Chander Gaind said that he had a meeting with Surjeet Singh a few days ago who explained the means and ways to save water as well as protect the environment through modern farming techniques. Surjeet Singh being a progressive farmer has been resorting to such farming techniques which led to saving water during paddy cultivation. Accompanied by DC Fatehgarh Sahib Poonamdeep Kaur, Mr. Gaind said that farmer Surjeet Singh had brought up the concept of ridge farming under which direct paddy transplantation is done on the ridges without needing to puddle the entire fields. This technique significantly reduces the amount of water required for paddy cultivation besides doing away with stubble burning practices, he said, adding that it also harnesses the yield. Likewise, the demonstration of techniques like direct paddy sowing was also carried out during the event.
The Divisional Commissioner also said that the in-situ management practices adopted by the progressive farmers would be displayed at the grain markets in the district at the large display screens. He said that the aim behind demonstrating these techniques at grain markets was to sensitize farmers to emulate the path of progressive farmers, thereby contributing towards water conservation and environment protection. Throwing light on the current water table in the district, Mr. Gaind said that five development blocks of Fatehgarh Sahib have been categorized as dark zones with respect to groundwater usage. Hence, it was the need of the hour to take serious strides towards water conservation through these practices.
He also lauded the efforts of farmers like Surjeet Singh who are making immense contributions towards environment protection and water conservation through advanced farming practices and appealed to all the farming community to come forward and adopt these methods. He directed the officials of the agriculture department to guide and motivate farmers through extensive awareness campaigns in their respective jurisdiction so that the goal of making Fatehgarh Sahib a leading district in water conservation and environment projects could be realized at the earliest.