Pink bollworm attack: Punjab orders probe into seed quality

The Punjab Government will conduct a high-level inquiry into seed quality following pink bollworm attack on cotton crops in the Malwa region. Criminal proceedings will be initiated against the guilty and their properties would be attached and fine levied. Stating this here on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said he along with Agriculture Minister Randeep Singh Nabha met a delegation of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee. Also read | Bank holidays in October 2021: Banks to remain shut for 21 days in October The Agriculture Minister said in order to save the cotton crop from further damage, the Punjab Government would provide free spray. Randhawa said the Punjab Government had provided Rs 5 lakh to the families of those farmers who died during the ongoing agitation against the farm laws and initiated the process to give jobs to one family member each of 165 deceased farmers. These appointment letters would be handed over to the beneficiaries in the coming days. Also read | Captain Amarinder meets Amit Shah, seeks repeal of three farm laws On the pending payment of sugarcane farmers, Randhawa said 99 per cent payments with regard to Cooperative Sugar Mills had been done and only Rs 8 crore was pending, which pertained to the buffer stock subsidy of the Union Government. -PTC News