Sangrur, Oct. 22 -- As the paddy harvesting season gathers pace, farmers in Sangrur have alleged an acute shortage of Crop Residue Management (CRM) machinery on the ground, forcing many to resort to stubble burning.

This comes despite the government's push for the Unnat Kisan mobile app, designed to help small and marginal farmers easily book over 85,000 in-situ and ex-situ CRM machines. Officials say farmers can also approach the local administration or agriculture department directly for assistance.

However, farmers say the digital initiative has failed to reach most of them. While many are simply unaware of the app, others lack the technical know-how to use it.

"All this is being done by the government just to level accusations agai...