Amritsar, November 21 After the failure of 15 samples of agricultural inputs, including seeds, fertilisers and chemicals, the district administration has instructed the Agriculture Department to take strict action against the shopkeepers. The department had earlier collected 155 samples of chemical fertilisers, 14 of bio-fertilisers, 337 of seeds and 139 of pesticides during routine inspections of shops. Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Dalbir Singh Chinna said eight samples of seeds, two of chemical fertilisers, two of bio-fertilisers and three of pesticides collected from various shops in the district, failed on quality parameters. Chinna said FIRs against shopkeepers have already been registered. The agriculture official stated that the department was conducting frequent inspections to make sure that farmers get quality products only. “We are also creating awareness among farmers and have been asking them to obtain purchase receipt with every item,” said Chinna. Meanwhile, ADC Himanshu Aggarwal asked department officials to take strict action against the shopkeepers, including cancelling their licences. Charing a meeting of the Agricultural Production Committee, Aggarwal said 259 individual applications for machinery required for crop residue management had been received this year. Additionally, 200 applicants had expressed interest in setting up machinery custom hiring centres. “Of the total applications received, 138 individual applications and 90 custom hiring centres have already been approved,” he said.

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