Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &amp;lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&amp;rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &amp;ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &amp;ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&amp;rdquo;. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&amp;rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &amp;ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&amp;rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &amp;ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&amp;rdquo; it noted rather grimly. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &amp;ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&amp;rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &amp;ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&amp;rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &amp;ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&amp;rdquo; the ministry concluded. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;If the constraints faced by the region &amp;mdash; and there were many &amp;mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &amp;ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
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THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &amp;lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&amp;rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &amp;ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &amp;ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&amp;rdquo;. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&amp;rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &amp;ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&amp;rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &amp;ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&amp;rdquo; it noted rather grimly. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &amp;ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&amp;rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &amp;ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&amp;rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &amp;ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&amp;rdquo; the ministry concluded. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;If the constraints faced by the region &amp;mdash; and there were many &amp;mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &amp;ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &amp;lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&amp;rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &amp;ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &amp;ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&amp;rdquo;. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&amp;rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &amp;ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&amp;rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &amp;ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&amp;rdquo; it noted rather grimly. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &amp;ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&amp;rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &amp;ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&amp;rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &amp;ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&amp;rdquo; the ministry concluded. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;If the constraints faced by the region &amp;mdash; and there were many &amp;mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &amp;ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
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THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &amp;lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&amp;rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &amp;ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &amp;ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&amp;rdquo;. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&amp;rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &amp;ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&amp;rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &amp;ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&amp;rdquo; it noted rather grimly. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &amp;ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&amp;rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &amp;ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&amp;rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &amp;ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&amp;rdquo; the ministry concluded. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;If the constraints faced by the region &amp;mdash; and there were many &amp;mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &amp;ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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                <strong>Grim scenario in ‘Food Bowl of India’ forces govt to turn east by Devesh Kumar</strong></h1>
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                <p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><font >THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&rdquo; &mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&rdquo;. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&rdquo; it noted rather grimly. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&rdquo; </font></p><p align="justify"><font >The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&rdquo; the ministry concluded. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >If the constraints faced by the region &mdash; and there were many &mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&rdquo;.<br /></font></p>               </font>
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &amp;lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&amp;rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &amp;ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &amp;ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&amp;rdquo;. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&amp;rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &amp;ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&amp;rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &amp;ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&amp;rdquo; it noted rather grimly. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &amp;ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&amp;rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &amp;ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&amp;rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &amp;ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&amp;rdquo; the ministry concluded. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;If the constraints faced by the region &amp;mdash; and there were many &amp;mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &amp;ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
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THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &amp;lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&amp;rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &amp;ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &amp;ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&amp;rdquo;. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&amp;rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &amp;ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&amp;rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &amp;ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&amp;rdquo; it noted rather grimly. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &amp;ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&amp;rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &amp;ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&amp;rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &amp;ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&amp;rdquo; the ministry concluded. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;If the constraints faced by the region &amp;mdash; and there were many &amp;mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &amp;ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Grim scenario in ‘Food Bowl of India’ forces govt to turn east by Devesh Kumar&#039;,
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &amp;lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&amp;rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. &lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &amp;ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &amp;ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&amp;rdquo;. &lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&amp;rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &amp;ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&amp;rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. &lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &amp;ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&amp;rdquo; it noted rather grimly. &lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &amp;ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&amp;rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &amp;ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&amp;rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. &lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &amp;ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&amp;rdquo; the ministry concluded. &lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;If the constraints faced by the region &amp;mdash; and there were many &amp;mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &amp;ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its...&#039;
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THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its..."/>
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                <strong>Grim scenario in ‘Food Bowl of India’ forces govt to turn east by Devesh Kumar</strong></h1>
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                <p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><font >THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&rdquo; &mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&rdquo;. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&rdquo; it noted rather grimly. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&rdquo; </font></p><p align="justify"><font >The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&rdquo; the ministry concluded. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >If the constraints faced by the region &mdash; and there were many &mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&rdquo;.<br /></font></p>               </font>
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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr6803085da764a-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr6803085da764a-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr6803085da764a-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr6803085da764a-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr6803085da764a-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr6803085da764a-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr6803085da764a-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr6803085da764a-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &amp;lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&amp;rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &amp;ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &amp;ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&amp;rdquo;. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&amp;rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &amp;ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&amp;rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &amp;ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&amp;rdquo; it noted rather grimly. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &amp;ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&amp;rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &amp;ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&amp;rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &amp;ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&amp;rdquo; the ministry concluded. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;If the constraints faced by the region &amp;mdash; and there were many &amp;mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &amp;ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
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THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its...&#039;,
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &amp;lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&amp;rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &amp;ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &amp;ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&amp;rdquo;. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&amp;rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &amp;ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&amp;rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &amp;ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&amp;rdquo; it noted rather grimly. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &amp;ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&amp;rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &amp;ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&amp;rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&amp;rdquo; &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &amp;ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&amp;rdquo; the ministry concluded. &lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;If the constraints faced by the region &amp;mdash; and there were many &amp;mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &amp;ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
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THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &amp;ldquo;Food Bowl of India&amp;rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its...&#039;
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                <strong>Grim scenario in ‘Food Bowl of India’ forces govt to turn east by Devesh Kumar</strong></h1>
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                <p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><font >THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&rdquo; &mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&rdquo;. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&rdquo; it noted rather grimly. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&rdquo; </font></p><p align="justify"><font >The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&rdquo; the ministry concluded. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >If the constraints faced by the region &mdash; and there were many &mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&rdquo;.<br /></font></p>               </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&rdquo; &mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&rdquo;. </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&rdquo; it noted rather grimly. </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&rdquo; </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&rdquo; the ministry concluded. </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">If the constraints faced by the region &mdash; and there were many &mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&rdquo;.<br />
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THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its...',
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. </font>
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<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. </font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&rdquo; &mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&rdquo;. </font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. </font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&rdquo; it noted rather grimly. </font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&rdquo; </font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. </font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&rdquo; the ministry concluded. </font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">If the constraints faced by the region &mdash; and there were many &mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&rdquo;.<br />
</font>
</p>
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THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its...'
$disp = '<p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><font >THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo;, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of &lsquo;Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States&rsquo;, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including &ldquo;unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital&rdquo; &mdash; factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and &ldquo;sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane&rdquo;. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called &ldquo;Food Bowl of India&rdquo; which should send alarm bells ringing among the country&rsquo;s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that &ldquo;if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025&rdquo;, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. &ldquo;Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,&rdquo; it noted rather grimly. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. &ldquo;There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,&rdquo; the background paper remarked, adding: &ldquo;Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers&rsquo; investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.&rdquo; </font></p><p align="justify"><font >The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. &ldquo;The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,&rdquo; the ministry concluded. </font></p><p align="justify"><font >If the constraints faced by the region &mdash; and there were many &mdash; were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential &ldquo;to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses&rdquo;.<br /></font></p>'
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Grim scenario in ‘Food Bowl of India’ forces govt to turn east by Devesh Kumar

THE fast-depleting groundwater levels and subsidised electricity supply to farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh spell doom for agricultural productivity in the region regarded as the “Food Bowl of India”, and has prompted the government to turn its gaze towards the eastern region for fulfilling its food security ambitions. A background note drafted by the department of agriculture and cooperation (DoAC) for the two-daylong workshop on the theme of ‘Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India States’, which began in Kolkata on Friday, portrays an alarming picture of the irrigation potential in the region, and builds a strong case for promoting agricultural production in the eastern pocket, constituting the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, besides eastern Uttar Pradesh. Besides an abundance of rainfall, the region had certain inherent advantages, including “unexploited good quality ground-water aquifers, vast resources of social capital” — factors which were considered essential for aqua-culture and “sustainable production of water-guzzling crops such as rice, banana and sugarcane”. But it was the ground-level situation prevailing in the so-called “Food Bowl of India” which should send alarm bells ringing among the country’s planners. The background paper prepared by the DoAC warned that “if the present trend in the decline of groundwater table in Haryana and Punjab continues, electricity and diesel consumption will double by 2025”, forcing the state electricity boards to become untenable in the face of mounting losses, triggered by the supply of heavily subsidised electricity to the farmers. Ground-water utilisation, the paper points out, ranges from 70% in Uttar Pradesh to 109% in Haryana and 145% in Punjab, leading to sharp decline in its levels. “Predominant contribution of Haryana and Punjab to food security is not sustainable in the long-range. Heavily subsidised electricity supply to deep tube-wells in Haryana, Punjab and the other states and dependence on relatively costly diesel power for pumping groundwater in the shallow aquifer zones in eastern Uttar Pradesh caused high financial losses to the state electricity boards, leading to their non-viability in the longer term,” it noted rather grimly. It found that large-scale cultivation of water-guzzling crop of rice accounts for 70-80% losses incurred by the state electricity boards. “There will be a phenomenal replacement cost of tubewells to the farmers, with a further decline in water table,” the background paper remarked, adding: “Overall, this trend of excessive consumption of water, energy and farmers’ investment portfolio is not favourable for sustainable food security of India.” The Food Bowl of India produced 36.49% of the total foodgrain from 24.06% of area during 2007-08. These states contributed 95% of wheat and 51% of rice to the central pool. The productivity of foodgrains in Haryana, Punjab and eastern Uttar Pradesh was 2,817 kgs/hectare, which was 66% more than the national average of 1,860 kgs/hectare. About 72-98% of the net sown area in these states was irrigated with nearly 70% contribution of groundwater and large-scale input of electricity and diesel. The irrigation potential in eastern India, by contrast, had remained largely under-exploited. “The agricultural productivity in this part of the country is dismally low in spite of adequate availability of natural resources,” the ministry concluded. If the constraints faced by the region — and there were many — were addressed sincerely, eastern India had the potential “to increase food-grain production to the tune of 68.16 million tonnes, including 55 million tonnes of rice and 1.26 million tonnes of pulses”.