Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, on Thursday, appealed to farmers of the state not to burn crop residue in the fields as it has an adverse impact

Chandigarh: Punjab Sports, Youth Services and NRI Affairs Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, on Thursday, appealed to farmers of the state not to burn crop residue in the fields as it has an adverse impact on the environment and causes road mishaps.

In a press conference issued here, Rana Sodhi said that this practice kills the friendly bacteria and fungi present in the soil and damages not only the environment but also the fertility of the soil besides becoming one of the major reasons for road accidents as smog reduces visibility for the drivers.

Rana Sodhi

Taking serious exception to the farm fire incidents, he said that it is need of the hour to curb the menace of stubble burning to prevent environmental pollution. “Contaminated air quality is posing high risk for the patients with co-morbidity during the perilous times of Coronavirus pandemic”, he added.

Appealing combine operators and farmers to adopt state-of-the-art technologies of residue management, he said that the Super Straw Management System (Super SMS) attached with the combine chops the paddy straw into very small pieces, which makes it easier for other machines to operate in the fields.

The Super SMS alone holds the potential to do away with the stubble burning trends as other machines can directly sow wheat seedlings, while cultivating the field.

Stubble Burning

Rana Sodhi said that more endeavours are being made to promote new techniques among the farmers besides creating awareness regarding in-situ and ex-situ residue management so that the stubble was converted into organic fertilizer.

“Protection of the environment has been the tradition of the Punjabis, but if nature is excessively exploited, we ourselves will fall prey to the wrath of nature,” said the Minister.