As deadline for wheat sowing nears, wait for balers leaves farmers anxious | Chandigarh News - The Indian Express

Devinder Singh, a farmer from Kasumbhri village in Fatehgarh Sahib but took land on lease in Mein Majri village, waited for 20 days to get his field cleared of paddy stubble as he was not able to hire a baler machine owing to the long waitlist. Finally, on Sunday, he decided to get a superseeder to sow wheat seeds after clearing his field by setting the remains on fire.

“As I put my field on fire, fire bridge and the police rushed to the spot and doused it. I had sought services of a super seeder owner, who is hard pressed for time, given the fact that the deadline of sowing wheat will get over on November 15. I cannot do anything now as the fire brigade has asked me not to put my field on fire. If I sow wheat later, there will be other problems. I cultivate 50 acres of land, half of it taken on contract. I will have to pay rent on the land,” he said.

In Dadiana village, another farmer Avtar Singh waited for 15 days to get a baler machine. “I asked the cooperative societies and also private baler machine owners, but no one was available. The entire operation of making bales from stubble, got squeezed in two weeks as the paddy was not being lifted. Now, the machines are overburdened,” he said, adding that finally, on Sunday, he was able to get a machine after taking the matter up with authorities.

“Even after that, only the baler was made available. Now, bales have been left in my fields. I have to make my own arrangement to dispose it,” he said.

With the Supreme Court tightening the noose around those burning stubble, the farmers have no other option but to manage it by using CRM machines. However, the high demand and less work force is adding to the woes of farmers.

BKU leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said that they are receiving complaints that bales made out of stubble were being left by the baler machine owners in the fields, “There is no dearth of machines but the massive operations of stubble management is being done in a short period of time. Now, the baler machine owners are asking for Rs 1500 per acre for clearing the field. Farmers are telling them that they are giving them stubble free of cost but still they are being charged. We had lodged complaints and some deputy commissioners have also asked these machine owners to put their act together. At some places, complaints have worked but at some places, these have not.”

Jasbir Singh, who owns five baler machines and operates in Macchiwara and Katani areas of Ludhiana, said that the machines are being used throughout the day. “Each machine can make bales in 15 to 20 acres everyday. Sometimes, machines develop a snag and sometimes driver and other labourers are not available. This has delayed operations but we are managing. I have full bookings for the next 10 days. I understand the problems of farmers, but I don’t have any open slot of accommodate them,” he said.

He added that he takes the bales to cardboard factories in Amloh and Ropar. “We do not charge a single penny from the farmers. The government gives us machines on subsidy. Sometimes, we have to transport bales to as far as Dina Nagar also. We spend on labour and diesel from our pocket. A machine consumes diesel worth Rs 1-1.5 lakh in a season. The factories will pay us later,” he said. Some baler machine owners have set up dumps in villages to save time and labour of transporting these immediately to factories, steel units using stubble as fuel and CBG units. In Rupalheri village in Fatehgarh Sahib, one such dump has been set up near the Mandi.

Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha said that there was no shortage of machines. “Enough number of machines are on the ground. Deputy Commissioners in each district is on the job to make sure the operations are smooth. If you go around, you will see that the number of fires has come down. If you have any complaint about machines not available just bring it to my notice. We are there to help farmers manage stable.”

According to the government, Punjab has 1.45 lakh machines for handling crop residue. This year, the government has sanctioned 21,958 crop residue management (CRM) machines and farmers have already procured 14,587 machines on subsidy so far this year.

During the current year 9010 Super Seeder machines were pressed into fields. As many as 1,383 Zero Till Drill, 627 RMB Plough, 595 balers, and 590 rakes were pressed. As many as 620 Customer Hiring Centres (CHCs) have also been established across the state so far to facilitate small and marginal farmers in accessing CRM machinery for effective crop residue management post-paddy harvesting.

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