Chandigarh, Sep 9 (IANS): With paddy harvesting likely to begin from next month, the Punjab government on Wednesday announced that paddy harvesting has been banned during night hours.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal asked deputy commissioners to promulgate necessary orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code to ensure complete ban on paddy harvesting by combines during night in their respective districts.

The ban will be imposed from 7 p.m. till 7 a.m.

"Violation of these orders would result in confiscation of harvester combines for the entire paddy season," Badal said here.

To ensure smooth and hassle-free procurement of paddy, the Punjab government also decided to allow farmers to transport paddy from grain markets to godowns on their own tractor trolleys.

"This exercise has been put in place keeping in view the larger interests of farmers to lift the purchased paddy quickly and ease congestion in the grain markets (mandis) during Kharif season. The paddy transportation costs to the farmers would be handed over as per the charges fixed by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for commercial vehicles," Badal said.

'Green Revolution' state Punjab contributes over 50 per cent food grains (wheat and paddy) to the national kitty, despite having only 1.54 percent of the country's geographical area.