Anti-stubble liquid spray for Delhi farms from October 11

The Delhi government on Tuesday started preparing a liquid solution for spraying over the 700-hectare farm fields in the national capital to curb stubble burning. The spraying of this solution will start from October 11.

The Delhi government will provide the mixture and the entire spraying system to the farmers free of cost.

The process of preparing the solution goes on for nearly seven days. The Delhi government said it has started the work and nearly 1,200 farmers who want to adopt this technique have registered. It will start spraying solutions on the farm lands of the registered farmers soon, the Delhi government added.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier on Tuesday visited Kharkhari Nahar village to review the bio-decomposer process, under which capsules produced by Pusa Agricultural Institute are mixed with readily available inputs to create a fermented liquid solution for spraying on the farm fields.

Kejriwal said the entire cost of creating the liquid solution for spraying on 700-hectare farm fields in Delhi is just Rs 20 lakh.

"I hope this will prove to be an effective alternative for the neighbouring states as well," added the Delhi Chief Minister.

"Today (Tuesday) onwards, the Delhi government has started the process of preparing this solution under the guidance of Pusa Research Institute and will be starting the process of spraying it on the fields across Delhi from October 11."

Kejriwal also met farmers and scientists to discuss the working and efficacy of the process. Addressing the media, Kejriwal said,"The harvesting of paddy leaves behind hard stubble on the farm fields. One of the main issues faced by farmers was to get rid of the stubble on the farm fields owing to the less time between the harvesting and sowing season of the crops."

The farmers would resort to stubble burning due to which the healthy bacteria on the farm fields would be damaged. The smoke came as a health hazard for the farmers and their families and people living in those villages and would cover entire north India with haze.

"As per the statement by Delhi government, the stubble burning in the city is significantly less than in the neighbouring states. The stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and other states, however, contributes nearly 45 per cent to air pollution in Delhi," it said.