Awareness camps help farmers to get technical knowhow on increasing productivity: Dr Singh
JAMMU, DECEMBER 13: Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh today said that awareness camps are being organized throughout the State to abreast the farmers about the latest techniques in farming sector. He said procurement centres are being established to ensure optimum returns to the agriculturists for their yield.
The Deputy Chief Minister was addressing public at Sangare Mandli in Billawar after inaugurating Mega Kissan Mela cum Awareness Camp today. The Mela was organized by the J&K State Advisory Board for Development of Kisans under IEC scheme.
Minister for Agriculture, Mr Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, Vice-Chairman, J&K State Advisory Board for Development of Kisans, Daljit Singh Chib, Legislators, Rajiv Jasroita, Jeevan Lal, Dr Gagan Bhagat and senior officers of district administration besides a large number of farmers and prominent citizens including senior leader Mamta Singh were present on the occasion.
Dr Singh highlighted benefits of ‘Laadli Beti Scheme’ and urged the people to take maximum benefit from various centre and state sponsored schemes.
Earlier, the Deputy Chief Minister dedicated ‘Advance Life Support Ambulance’ worth Rs 30 lakh to the people of Billawar having all state of the art facilities. He also inspected the ongoing construction work of Rs 21.21 crore, hospital at Billawar having capacity of 100 beds and directed the executing agency to ensure the quality and timely completion of works.
Dr Nirmal Singh said that a comprehensive project has been formulated to expand the road network in Billawar area with 21 new roads sanctioned under PMGSY which will further enhance the connectivity of this area. He further said that the land-locked Juthana area will soon get a bridge worth Rs 46 crore for the convenience of the people.
Dr Singh said the Expressway project from Delhi-Amritsar-Katra will soon be launched which will benefit the people at large and will increase the tourist footfall in J&K. He further said that to change the power scenario in Billawar, a Grid Station will soon be established to mitigate the power crisis and improve the voltage.
Maintaining that the government is laying special focus on agriculture and allied sectors, the Dy CM said that several centre and State sponsored including Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana (PMFBY) and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) and Kissan Credit Card (KCC) have been introduced to increase agricultural yield in the state.
Dr Singh said the matter regarding compensation for damaged crops will be taken up with the Centre for immediate redress. He added that soil testing facility has been made available by the department to help farmers manage their crops in a better way.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura said the aim of organizing Kisan Melas is to create awareness among the farmers especially living in far-flung areas and to increase productivity. He said such camps make farmers aware about latest technology being used in farming and also its use for boosting the crop production and its cultivation besides increasing production in live stock, milk and mutton. He said the department of agriculture is giving subsidy on high yield seeds as well as on farming tools including tractors.
Hanjura said the directions have already been passed to the officers of the department to conduct frequent visits of their respective areas for providing timely help and advice to the farmers.
With regards to the upgradation of Dak Bungalow of Agriculture Department at Mandli Billawar, the Minister directed the concerned to prepare Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project.
Responding the demands put forth by the farmers at the Mela, Mr Hanjura said the Government is aware of the problems being faced by the farmers and efforts are being made for their early redress. The demands presented to the Minister included establishment of Procurement centers for Wheat, early restoration of Lift Irrigation Scheme at Mandli, launching of Irrigation Tube Wells in Billawar area and waiving off of KCC Loans among others.
Vice-Chairman Kisan Advisory Board, Daljit in his address informed the audience about the aims and objectives of the Mela besides activities of the Board. He also called for creating awareness among the farmers about the policies and programmes of the Government.
He expressed the hope that the deliberations held during the Mela will prove beneficial to the participants and will pave way for bringing about excellence in agriculture and its allied sectors.
Earlier, Dr Nimral Singh, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, Daljit Singh and Legislators went round various stalls displaying modern machinery, equipments, implements, tools, and pesticides of various brands. They took keen interest in observing the usage of the modern equipments.
