Patna, May 17: Chief minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated two community radio stations for farmers today. He also flagged off Krishi Utsav Rath, which will visit all 38 districts to spread awareness on Kharif crops.
One radio station, which went on air today, has come up at Barauli Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Samastipur while the other has come up at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Barh.
According to sources, the community radio will serve as channels for disseminating agriculture-related information as well as entertainment programmes for farmers, women and children in rural areas. The radio stations can emit signals in a 20km radius. During the event, a large number of agriculture scientists were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, Nitish said the state government’s special emphasis is on promoting better facilities for the farmers to bring about another green revolution in the state. “We want that every food plate in the country should have something produced from the state. Agriculture is a subject very close to my heart and it is a priority of the government now. I want farmers of the state to be self-dependent,†he added.
During the event, the chief minister lamented the corruption in credit card scheme and said the government had a zero-tolerance policy towards any kind of graft. “Prima facie, it has come out that a few people in connivance with bank officials in Muzaffarpur have misused farmer credit card scheme to fill their own pockets and a number of police personnel are also involved. The matter is being investigated but these cases will not be taken lightly and no guilty will be spared,†he said.
Nitish also stressed on the need for using water efficiently as Bihar has been witnessing severe water crisis. “Many farmers think that there is no dearth of irrigation facilities in our state, but as production increases, it would put pressure on irrigation facilities. Later, we will face problems as the water table has depleted rapidly and rivers like Ganga are drying up. In India, efficient use of water is only 29 per cent, which means that 71 per cent water is wasted. We should therefore opt for smart use of our natural resources,†he said.
M.L. Chaudhary, the vice-chancellor of Rajendra Agriculture University and Bihar Agriculture University, Sabour, said these stations would broadcast programmes for two hours every day. “While the broadcasting times in the morning would be from 7am-8am, in the evening, it programmes will be aired from 6am-7am. Thirty minutes of morning and evening slots will have agriculture-related programmes, while in the remaining 30 minutes, programmes for women and students will be broadcast,†he added.
According to sources, the raths launched on the occasion were part of the Krishi Vikas Utsav, which will commence on May 19 and will continue till June 10. During this period, different programmes will be organised at block-levels to promote hybrid paddy cultivation, bio-fertiliser usage and to train farmers.