Chandigarh (Punjab) [India] May 19 : Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO announced on Monday that the state has been divided into three zones to ensure an uninterrupted power supply during the paddy sowing season.
Zone 1, comprising Faridkot, Bathinda, Fazilka, Ferozepur, and Shri Muktsar Sahib, will receive a minimum of eight hours of uninterrupted power supply starting June 1 until the paddy ripening phase. Zone 2, covering Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar, and Fatehgarh Sahib, will commence paddy sowing on June 5 with assured power supply.
Paddy sowing in Zone 3, including Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Moga, Patiala, Mansa, Sangrur, Barnala, Kapurthala, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, will begin on June 9, with a similar commitment to at least eight hours of uninterrupted power.
The minister emphasized that there is no power shortage in the state, ensuring seamless support for farmers across all zones.
On Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced Direct Sowing of Rice (DSR), in order to save 15-20 per cent of the state's precious groundwater.
This will act as a catalyst for checking the further depletion of groundwater and supplement farmers' incomes in a big way, said a statement from the CMO.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, the Chief Minister said that since taking charge of his office, his government has taken several groundbreaking initiatives to safeguard the interests of the farmers.
He said that only the state government has encouraged the DSR paddy cultivation technique as part of this endeavour, and sowing under the scheme has started today (Thursday). Bhagwant Mann said that his government has targeted bringing five lakh acres of land using the DSR technique during this Kharif season.
Urging the farmers to make maximum use of this scheme, the Chief Minister said that this initiative aims to promote sustainable agriculture and conserve groundwater.
CM Mann further said that he is immensely proud and satisfied that the state government is providing financial assistance worth Rs 1,500 per acre to farmers adopting DSR.
He said that the state government has also allocated Rs 40 crore for this purpose in the financial year 2025-26, adding that farmers interested in the DSR scheme can register at the online portal agrimachinerypb.com from May 10 to June 30, 2025.