Ludhiana, March 21 -- Stressing the primacy of agriculture in Punjab, chief minister Bhagwant Mann inaugurated the Kisan Mela at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here on Friday, urging farmers not to treat farming as secondary but to maintain it as a priority to uphold the state's legacy. Despite a wet threat alert from the Indian Meteorological Department, the mela opened under cloudy skies with a cool breeze and pleasant weather, drawing lakhs of farmers from across Punjab.

The mela offered farmers opportunities to purchase improved kharif seeds, planting material, biofertilisers and PAU publications, witness live field demonstrations, discuss ongoing agricultural issues with experts, learn latest household management techniques an...