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Indian Express
28-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Area under cotton cultivation up by 15% in Punjab, but long-term decline continues
Cotton cultivation in Punjab has registered a 15 per cent increase this year compared to 2024, offering a ray of hope for the state's struggling cotton belt. However, the overall trend remains downward when viewed against the last five years, with the area under cotton cultivation continuing to shrink from its historical highs. The figure is likely to improve further as the data of the area under cotton sowing is to be collected till May 31. According to official data, the cotton-growing districts of Fazilka, Bathinda, Mansa, and Muktsar have so far covered 1.13 lakh hectares out of the targeted 1.29 lakh hectares, falling short of the target by 14.6 per cent. But this marks a notable rise from the 98,490 hectares sown in 2024 — a year that saw record-low coverage of the cash crop. 'The improvement is visible, though minor. Cotton sowing is almost complete, and final data will be available in early June,' said Jagdish Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Bathinda. 'Based on the sale of seeds, we are expecting a further increase in the area under cotton by the end of May.' Rajinder Kumar, Chief Agriculture Officer, Fazilka, attributed the partial increase to better awareness and slight recovery of farmer confidence, though a double breach in the Punjawa Minor Canal affected irrigation and sowing timelines in parts of the district. Despite this year's gain, the long-term decline in cotton acreage is stark. In 2019, cotton was sown on 3.35 lakh hectares. The numbers dropped to 2.5–2.52 lakh ha during 2020–2021, to 2.48 lakh ha in 2022, to 1.79 lakh ha in 2023, and further to 98,490 ha in 2024. The latest target of 1.29 lakh ha represents a deliberate scaling down in response to farmer disinterest, pest threats, and market uncertainties. Punjab boasted 8 lakh hectares under cotton cultivation during the 1980s. Experts trace the steady decline to the Green Revolution, which encouraged paddy cultivation in areas with canal water access, leaving only the saline-water-prone Malwa belt suitable for cotton. 'Cotton was once white gold, but issues like whitefly and pink bollworm attacks, spurious seeds, and low MSP procurement by the Cotton Corporation of India have disillusioned farmers,' said Sukhjinder Singh Rajan, a Fazilka farmer. In 2015, a whitefly outbreak devastated 3.25 lakh hectares of cotton. Compensation of Rs 8,000 per acre was announced. A pink bollworm infestation in 2021 led to another round of farmer losses and a Rs 17,000 per acre relief package. Unlike cotton, paddy benefits from an assured minimum support price (MSP) and easy canal water access. 'That's why many farmers shift to paddy. Cotton is risky with unpredictable pests and no guaranteed procurement,' added Rajan. Still, some officials remain optimistic. 'Mansa is very close to achieving its target of 28,500 hectares,' said Harpreet Pal Kaur, Chief Agriculture Officer, Mansa. 'We expect to meet it once final figures are compiled.' While the marginal rebound in 2025 is encouraging, experts stress the need for quality seeds, fair pricing, pest management, and assured procurement to revive cotton cultivation meaningfully in Punjab. Until then, the area under this once-thriving cash crop is unlikely to recover its lost stature.
Scroll.in
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
In wake of ceasefire, damaged homes in a Jammu neighbourhood bear witness to human cost of conflict
On Saturday morning, Rajinder Kumar, his wife and two sons were cleaning debris in their small house in Jammu city's Rehari Colony. The tensions between India and Pakistan that had begun to rise since the commencement of Operation Sindoor on Wednesday had weighed heavy on Kumar's mind but he never expected the conflict to come to his own doorstep. Kumar's slumber was disrupted by a loud bang inside his house at around 5.35, waking up his family. Within a matter of seconds they were blinded by falling shards of their ceiling, concrete dust and smoke. 'We ran outside as fast as we could,' he said. Residents of the colony say that there was a loud bang but no explosion or fire. It is unclear whether this was a single explosive, or several that failed to detonate, or whether it was the debris of an intercepted aircraft or shells fired from Pakistan. Next door to Rajinder Kumar, his brother, Jatinder Kumar, was shaken awake too. 'We rushed outside to save our lives,' he said. His wife had been taken to hospital with injuries, Jatinder Kumar said. A woman named Shweta said her husband also had to be taken to hospital. Besides the houses of the Kumar brothers that seemed to have borne the brunt of the projectile's impact, at least three other houses across from theirs suffered notable damage. A few other houses had their windowpanes broken with the impact. As Indian officials on Saturday evening announced a ceasefire with Pakistan, the damage in Rehari Colony stood as testimony to the human cost of the conflict. Jammu and Kashmir and northern states have been subjected to a barrage of drone attacks by Pakistan in retaliation for Operation Sindoor, which India launched on nine sites across the border after terrorists shot dead 26 people in Pahalgam. Indian officials say between 300-400 Pakistani drones were intercepted. More than a dozen residents of Jammu and Kashmir's border region have been killed in intense shelling by Pakistan. By Saturday evening, the authorities had not made a statement about the nature of the projectiles that hit Rehari. In Rehari, the door to Rajinder Kumar's small single-storeyed house opens up to their tiny living room that is dominated by a sofa and two plastic chairs. A small passage leads to a bedroom in the back. One of Kumar's sons was asleep on the sofa and was lucky to have escaped serious injuries. For about an hour, residents say local authorities did not respond to the situation. 'We called everyone we could, but nobody came to our help,' said Kumar. By 8.30 am, the colony was swarming with personnel of the State Disaster Relief Force, the police, the Indian Army and the chief minister's security team. Twenty minutes later, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah arrived. Since Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to Union territory status in 2019, much administrative power lies in the hands of the Centre. His visit and the arrangements that it entailed caused some anger among the residents. 'They said nothing to us,' said a neighbour of Kumar, who was helping with the clean up. 'We even asked [the personnel on ground] for help to open a jammed door but they didn't even do that.' Kumar's brother, Jatinder, also complained that the authorities had not been helpful. He said that his injured wife had to be taken to hospital by the neighbours. 'We had called everyone [in the administration], but nobody came for help,' Jatinder Kumar said. 'They came an hour later. He too was unimpressed with Omar Abdullah's visit. 'The chief minister came and saw what had happened, but nobody gave us any reassurances,' Jatinder Kumar said. Amit, another resident in the area whose house had been damaged, said the residents had been anxious ever since Pakistan had begun firing at targets in India. On Saturday, he said, it 'felt as if an earthquake had happened. It was a very loud bang, and everything was moving.' Shweta, another resident, was also woken up by the impact of debris falling on her house. She said some of the relatives had been injured in the incident. Like others in the neighborhood, she was upset with the government for failing to respond to the people's needs. 'Where will we evacuate to?' she asked. 'Nowhere is safe. ... we spend our whole lives building our properties. You want us to leave and run. It can't happen. This government has not given us as much as it has taken away from us now.'
