Chahelan village farmer who became true saviour of nectar of life

Rupinder Chahal of Chahelan village can aptly be designated with the tag of the true saviour of the nectar of life, i.e. water. He has definitely gone a step further in his attempt to control the receding water table by growing paddy on the ridges, which has not only fetched him rich dividends, but also saved fifty percent of water ever since he took to this method of sowing.

“At the outset, I too, like others, felt that it is always safe to continue with the traditional method. But when I saw my fields inundated with water while sowing paddy, something from within cursed me a lot. I had an earnest desire to save water, which I felt was being drained thoughtlessly. I finally decided to take the lead. I experimented by sowing paddy on ridges and it worked. It worked to the extent that contrary to my apprehensions, it safely increased my yield by 3 to 4 quintal. From that particular day till now, I simply have no regrets and rather I now consider myself to be blessed as I have been able to honour the words of Gurbani as well.

“I tried to kill two birds with one stone by sowing paddy on the ridges, only to find that it grew and developed much better than the one grown in the fields. This indeed gave me satisfaction in abundance when I found I was saving water not only by sowing paddy technically, but smartly as well,” Rupinder added.

He experimented on half an acre in 2016, gradually increasing it to three and half acres in 2017, followed by 10 acres, all on ridges. Not only this, he has abandoned puddling altogether and does transplanting with laser technique. “I can declare with confidence that I save 50 per cent of water every year by way of this technique. While the water evaporates in a puddled field, in this case it percolates in the soil itself and can be recycled. The yield per acre is 3 to 4 quintal higher in this case and the attack of pests is minimum. Financial burden can be reduced to a considerable extent in the non-puddled fields,” Rupinder shared.

“At every step, I had retired Agriculture Information Officer Daler Singh to show me the way. He was my best guide and always motivated me to continue relentlessly in my noble endeavour of saving water,” he added.

Former Secretary, Agriculture Punjab, Kahan Singh Pannu expressed that Rupinder had not only succeeded in increasing his yield by sowing paddy on ridges, but also wisely and prudently devised a technique to check the constantly receding water table, which should be everyone’s concern during the present times. If such far-sighted farmers begin to show the way, the day is not far when a farmer shall be considered to be the true preserver of the planet.”

Ludhiana