Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Apr 15: With peace prevailing on Indo-Pak Border and Line of Control (LoC) due to yearlong ceasefire, the harvesting of wheat crop on Zero Line, both on International Border and Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir right from Chhamb in Khour tehsil of Jammu district up to areas falling on Zero Line in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district, has started on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi yesterday.
The farmers, who could not cultivate their land for about two decades on Zero Line or near the fence are now jubilant seeing the bumper crop on their fertile land which had over the years turned barren due to non cultivation after continuous border skirmishes and shelling from across. However, for last two years the farmers joy knew no bounds after declaration of ceasefire by Indo -Pak Governments on the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the decision created a new hope among the border denizens who otherwise had suffered a heavy loss due to non cultivation of their land.
The Government decision brought cheers on the faces of thousands of affected farmers living along LoC and IB in the UT. As Baisakhi festival is considered a good omen for harvesting and it is beginning of harvesting season, the farmers along the border belt of Jammu region right from Chhamb area of Khour tehsil in Jammu district up to villages situated on IB in Hiranagar Sector of Kathua district started harvesting on auspicious day of Baisakhi yesterday to maintain the age old tradition.
Though in Kathua belt it was a symbolic exercise of harvesting on the occasion of Baisakhi yesterday as the farmers are waiting for harvesting combines that will come from neighboring Punjab State and the harvesting in large scale in the area will start soon after the machines reach J&K.
The farmers of this entire border belt are elated seeing the bumper crop this time, said Dev Raj a farmer of Gujjar Chak in tehsil Marheen who also started symbolic harvesting in his fields near Zero Line yesterday. “We had never thought that this day will come again that we will be able to cultivate our land which had completely turned barren near two decades after remained without cultivation due to Pak shelling”, Dev Raj added.
He gave all credit to PM Narendra Modi and his Government for taking an initiative in ending border skirmishes and paving way for farmers to cultivate their land. He said the LG administration and BSF, besides Agriculture Department also deserves credit for their logistic and financial support to farmers in cultivating their land near Zero Line.
Total 256 acres land in border belt of Kathua near fence is being cultivated by farmers for last over two years now, said Chief Agriculture Officer, Kathua, Sanjeev Rai.
He said “First we started the cultivation in Rabi season of 2021 -22 on our own and later motivated farmers”. He said 22 farmers were pursued by the Department in Chak Changa of Hiranagar border belt to start cultivating their land. The Department provided them subsidy and all other facilities while the BSF ensured security to them and at present there is bumper wheat crop in this entire border belt which no one would have imagined.
He said later three more villages of border belt joined in cultivating their land near fence. He said as symbolic harvesting has started on the occasion of Baisakhi yesterday, it will start with full swing in the entire border belt from next week.
Ajit Singh a farmer from Bobiya in Hiranagar belt said “We started religious rituals on the occasion of Baisakhi yesterday as harvesting on this day is considered a good omen and it has been a tradition going on for centuries together”. He said that with the support of LG administration as well as Agriculture Department and BSF the farmers of border belt have been able to cultivate their land after a gap of about two decades.
Bharat Bushan, another farmer whose joy knew no bounds seeing a bumper crop in his fields this time, said the Government has brought cheers and happiness on their faces as the farmers of this belt who had suffered a huge loss for about two decades due to non cultivation of their fertile land which was known as rice bowl of Jammu.
However, the case is not the same in border village of Chelyari in Samba district where farmers said that their crop has mostly been damaged by wild animals. The entire crop in this border belt was damaged by wild animals, said Veena Devi, local Sarpanch. But in border belt of Nanga in Ramgarh sector of Samba district the farmers have started symbolic harvesting yesterday and from next week they will go for harvesting of wheat crop in full swing.
Harbans Singh, a local farmer said the two decade long despair has been replaced by hope with the efforts of the Government which announced ceasefire and encouraged farmers to cultivate their land. He said symbolic harvesting of wheat started in entire border belt of Samba and Jammu districts like Arnia, Suchetgarh and RS Pura as well as Chhamb area of Khour tehsil yesterday.
Vijay Sharma, a farmer and a ‘political activist’ from Akhnoor belt said that farmers have started harvesting the wheat crop on their land near LoC in Pargwal area and Chhamb border belt manually as well as through machines yesterday.
The harvesting has also been started by Agriculture Department’s Seed Multiplication Farm spread over 2300 acres of land on two sides of border fencing in the Golepattan-Chinore belt nearly 55 kms from here also on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi yesterday where both men and machines were seen in action since morning in harvesting wheat crop.
“We have started harvesting the wheat crop on this farm. Our crops are ripe. We will take few days to complete the harvesting in this farm”, the Manager of the Seed Multiplication Farm, Kuldeep Raj told Excelsior.
He said that harvesting is taking place on 2,290 acres of land spread on two sides of the border fencing. “After completion of the harvesting on this side , we will undertake harvesting across the fencing on an area of 280 acres of land with the support of BSF” he added.
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