By IANS,
Chandigarh : The Punjab government Friday allowed farmers to start sowing paddy from June 10 onwards.
State Agriculture Minister Sucha Singh Langah said the sowing had been advanced in view of pre-monsoon showers across the state in recent days.
Langah has said the deputy commissioners and agriculture officials in the state have already been instructed to plough afresh all fields where paddy has been sown prior to June 10.
Farmers in many parts of the state start sowing paddy from mid-March itself. This variety of paddy, agriculture experts say, is harmful for the already depleting ground water table as the variety sucks a lot of water from the earth.
Punjab’s ground water level has been going down in recent years. Much of this is owing to the early paddy being sown which needs a lot of water.
In recent weeks, district authorities have ploughed many agricultural fields where paddy had been planted by farmers despite the ban.