Woman agri officer who got injured while fighting farm fires felicitated

Tribune News Service

Ravi Dhaliwal

Gurdaspur, December 9

It was a red-letter day in the life of Amandeep Kaur, Agriculture Extension Officer, when Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Himanshu Aggarwal visited her residence after she slipped from her two-wheeler while dousing paddy stubble fires in Kahnuwan agriculture block.

Despite the DC’s clear cut orders of not to set alight residue, there have been scores of instances where these orders have been flouted with impunity.

Hazy skies have become an autumn tradition of sorts for the residents of Gurdaspur district. Stretching from October till December, usually before and after Diwali celebrations, a pall of smoke hangs over large swaths of land.

Officers like Amandeep Kaur have been in the forefront of fighting this scourge. She got to know that there was a fire in Kalabala village, she reached the site immediately on her two-wheeler. Once there she got busy dousing the fires. However, there was no respite for this officer as she got another call from Thirkriwal village intimating her that some fires were noticed here too.

While hopping from one village to another, she slipped on the bumpy link road and got injured. The DC was seized of her efforts and hence decided to visit her at her residence in Babbehali village, 4 km from Gurdaspur. Fortunately for Amandeep the injury was not serious.

“When you truly dedicate yourself to your goals, there is no way not to achieve them. Eradicating stubble fire is one of them,” she said.

“ I wanted to reach Thikriwal village before the situation worsened. However, I slipped and fell in a hurry to reach there. One should not hurry. Actually, nature does not hurry yet she accomplishes everything. I often tell errant farmers to use super seeder machines which automatically take care of stubble. Burning residue produces toxic gases that not only make it difficult to breathe but also contribute significantly to global warming,” said Amandeep, as she proudly displayed the certificate of honour she received from the DC.

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#Agriculture #Environment #Farm Fires #Gurdaspur #Pollution