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Manmeet Singh Gill
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, May 1
Wheat crop on around 20 acres was gutted by fire in Boharwala village, Ajnala, on Wednesday. Crop residue on another 18 acres was also burnt. Residents of the village said they had doused the flames before the arrival of fire tenders.
Residents said fire had started because of sparking by dangling electricity wires.
On Tuesday, around 500 acres of crop was burnt in fields near Goindwal Thermal Plant in adjoining Tarn Taran district. Even in Ajnala on Tuesday, around 28 acres of crop was burnt in an accidental fire in Rokhe village. A total of 35 acres of crop has also been burnt in different villages of Majitha block so far.
Kirti Kisan Union district president Dhanwant Singh Khatraekalan said, “Over 200 acres of crop has been burnt in Amritsar district alone. Accidental fires occur every year, but the government has not done anything so far. Availability of fire tenders at block level can be of big help as it will not take much time for fire engines to reach mishap sites.” Currently, fire engines are sent from Amritsar city.
Jamhoori Kisan Sabha president Satnam Singh Ajnala also demanded block-level fire tenders. He also demanded that the government should provide compensation to farmers who had suffered losses. Apart from dangling electricity wires, the spark generated by heavy agricultural equipment due to friction in its parts also cause fire. As the crop is dry, fire spreads easily and is hard to control without proper firefighting system.
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