To curb stubble burning, which exacerbates air pollution, the Delhi government plants to nudge farmers in the capital to use a microbial cocktail which would help turn crop residue into manure.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government would be preparing the mixture with the help of the city-based Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), which developed the technique, and distribute it free of cost to Delhi farmers.

Called Pusa Decomposer, the solution that IARI researchers developed contains microbes, jaggery and chickpea flour. The microbes, which are otherwise in dormant stage multiply in presence of jaggery and chickpea, helping decompose the organic matter quickly.

“The Delhi government will provide this solution to the farmers free of cost. It will cost us less than ₹20 lakh. This method will help in improving the soil quality,” said Delhi CM.

Water supply

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Kejriwal had said that his Government is making all efforts to ensure 24x7 water supply to every household in Delhi.

The government has decided to appoint a consultant in Delhi who will suggest measures to ensure the provision of 24x7 water to every household inDelhi. The process got a bit delayed due to Covid, otherwise, the process would have been completed in March or April, he said.

In Delhi, the water pressure is low and people have to install pumps, and if one person installs a pump, it causes a problem for their neighbours. Every household has to install water tanks to store water.

On the issue of privatising the water supply in Delhi, he had said, “No privatisation of water is happening, I am myself against privatisation of water. There can be no privatisation of water at any cost”.

comment COMMENT NOW