For thousands of pomegranate farmers in the State, reeling under the bacterial blight (BB) disease and facing a crop loss of Rs 1,000 crore, experts appointed by the Union Agricultural Ministry had a one-line solution: Burn the affected trees.

The solution came out of a meeting of scientists, university department heads, office bearers of the All India Pomegranate Federation (AIPF) and the Pomegranate National Research Centre (PNRC) convened by the Union Agriculture Ministry in Pune last week. The pomegranate cultivators of the state are not amused.

The meeting, headed by Additional Secretary of Agriculture Ministry SM Desalphine, formed a five-member committee consisting of AIPF president Prabhakar Chandane, PNRC director VT Jadhav, State Agriculture Secretary Nanasaheb Patil and scientist DM Savant to look into the matter.

“We hoped the Ministry would provide a solution to the disease affecting our crops. Instead, they have made a mockery out of the whole issue by telling us to celebrate Holi by setting ablaze the bacteria-hit trees,” said SS Chavan, a pomegranate cultivator from Solapur district.

“We were expecting some permanent solutions based on the in-depth research from the committee. Even a small kid can tell us that affected trees should be burned. Why do they call themselves scientists,” Chavan asked.

Jadhav, however, justifies the directives of the committee. He told The Indian Expressthat it is the need of hour and if the blight is not brought under control by setting the trees on fire, new cultivation would face the danger of the same disease in future. “It is not a mockery. We wanted to destroy the BB en masse and thus we have chosen Holi festival to do it,” Jadhav clarified.

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