Ludhiana, September 16 For his efforts towards management of paddy/wheat straw to save environment, Dr Harminder Singh Sidhu, a progressive farmer and director of Gadri Baba Dulla Singh Giani Nihal Singh Foundation, Jalaldiwal village, near Raikot, in Ludhiana district, has been honoured by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and the Union Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare during a function organised at NASC Complex, New Delhi. For the past five years, Dr Harminder Singh Sidhu and his team had not burnt paddy/wheat straw in their fields. Besides, they were also involved in creating awareness amongst other farmers of Raikot subdivision about the ill effects of paddy/wheat straw burning towards the environment. With the support of the CII Foundation India, Dr Sidhu and his team, with the help of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, ICAR (Atari & Ludhiana), CIPHET, Ludhiana, has provided technical assistance to the farmers, along with machinery in this regard. Last year, the foundation had adopted 11 villages and saved 11,000 acres of paddy straw from being burnt by the farmers. In view of the 550th Parkash Purab celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev this year, they have adopted 34 villages of Raikot subdivision. Dr Harminder Singh Sidhu and Tota Singh, directors of Gadri Baba Dulla Singh Giani Nihal Singh Foundation, said their foundation had been regularly educating the farmers about the ill-effects of burning straw and benefits of ploughing it in soil. It has also been organising training camps in their villages as well as visits to Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. They said during harvesting season, their team members stay in villages for several days and provide technical assistance to the farmers. They said they started this work five years ago by adopting one village, and now this figure had reached 34. They also said they were also in the process of setting up air-quality check machines in these villages to check quality of air, along with soil testing. They said the main aim of their foundation was to ensure that no farmer of the state set paddy straw on fire during the upcoming paddy season. They said the Mission Tandrust Punjab being started by Capt Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government had started showing positive results. He said due to the efforts of the Punjab government, several organisations had come forward to educate the farmers and provide them with technical knowhow. They appealed to the farmers that in view of the 550th Parkash Purab celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, they should not burn paddy straw as it would be the real tribute to the first Sikh guru.

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