Chandigarh, April 30 -- Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday announced the paddy cultivation schedule for the state, stating that sowing will commence on June 1 in a phased manner to help growers avoid moisture-related issues. Addressing a press conference here, Mann said the state government has decided to start the paddy cultivation season from June 1 to ensure that farmers do not face difficulties in selling their crop due to high moisture content in October. "The state has been divided into four zones for paddy transplantation through the traditional method and the government is making comprehensive arrangements for this phased rollout," he said before announcing the staggered schedule. The CM said that transplantation in Zone 1 comprising Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ropar, SAS Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Hoshiarpur districts will start from June 1. In Zone 2 covering Faridkot, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Muktsar, and Fazilka districts, sowing will begin on June 5, while in Zone 3 districts of Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Mansa, Moga, Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala, Kapurthala, Jalandhar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr), transplantation is scheduled to start on June 9. Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) will take place from May 15 to 31 in all districts. "The government will ensure eight hours of uninterrupted power supply daily for tubewells as per this schedule," he assured. Mann said that canal water for irrigation will, for the first time, be made available from May 1 itself, with 21,000 cusecs of water to be released across the state to reduce reliance on groundwater. The CM said 15 Indians, including 11 from Punjab, two from Telangana and one each from Haryana and Uttarakhand, have been deported from Australia. "They are coming back. We will receive them at the Delhi airport," he said. Responding to a question about the reason for their deportation, the CM said they were facing criminal cases in Australia. "If you break their laws, they will deport you," he said. When asked about speculation that the government may bring a confidence motion during the special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on May 1, the CM said the party already has 94 MLAs, and there could be no greater proof of people's confidence than this. "If somebody claims that so many MLAs are in contact with other parties and that the government will fall, then we will bring it," he added....