Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh will visit Mansa on Friday to personally assess the situation arising out of the white-fly attack on cotton crops, amid reports that farmers in the region were uprooting the crops following the pest attack.
The Chief Minister, who will be accompanied by senior officials, has already directed the Agriculture Department to offer all possible assistance to farmers, warning that no laxity in this regard would be tolerated, according to an official spokesperson.
Taking serious note of the reports of the white-fly attack, causing damage cotton crops, the Chief Minister has decided to visit the affected areas for a first-hand assessment of the extent of destruction and its impact on the farming community. He is expected to undertake a detailed survey of the affected farms, said the spokesperson.
The Chief Minister has, meanwhile directed the agriculture department and the police authorities to crack down on the sale of spurious pesticides, which had aggravated the situation since the farmers were unable to save the white-fly afflicted crops even after spraying pesticides.