Paddy residue set afire, villagers shocked

Nabha, June 13 

Farmers of Kallar Majri in the subdivision were in a state of shock as paddy residue kept at a distance from the village was set on fire by some unscrupulous persons on Wednesday afternoon. 

Paddy residue of over 35 acres was completely destroyed in the fire. Fire tenders from the Nabha fire station were rushed to the site, which managed to douse the fire and prevented it from spreading to another site, where paddy residue of over 100 acres had been kept since last year.

After the Punjab Government issued directions not to burn paddy residue in fields to save environment from pollution, farmers of Kallar Majri had decided not to burn the residue. In fact, the Agriculture Department had honoured farmers for their efforts to save the environment.

Bir Balwinder Singh, a farmer, said the village had been adopted by the the state government and the villagers had collectively decided not to burn the paddy residue. He said some unscrupulous elements set it on fire. The state government had decided to use the residue for other purposes, including electricity generation. — TNS