No lessons learnt as stubble fire mishaps continue

Charnajit Singh Teja

Amritsar, May 4

Batala’s horrifying incident involving burning of wheat stubble, in which several children boarding a school bus received serious burn injuries after the bus they were travelling in caught fire, highlight gross violation of rules.

But despite a ban imposed by the government on straw burning, thousands of farmers continue to burn the crop residue in Amritsar district. With the department of Agriculture and district administration not taking any action against wheat stubble firing cases, there is resentment among commuters, who face inconvenience while travelling on roads.

The Majha region witnessed high-velocity winds in the last 24 hours and farmers of periphery area take advantage of such weather. They put the stubble on fire and then go away, avoiding authorities and those who question them. But due to high-velocity winds, the fire often gets out of control and burns whatever comes in the way, including trees, killing birds and animals.

“Crop residue fires are a major threat to the green cover. Every year, environmentalists plant thousands of saplings, but the survival rate is very low due to field fires,” said Dr Harkrishan Singh, who voluntarily plants saplings every year.

Jatinderpal Singh, a resident of New Amritsar, said: “Today, a farmer of Khankot village burnt crop residue in his field, but the fire spread to the canal road. Dense smoke covered the road in no time and there was zero visibility. More than 2 acre land was put on fire and it was tough to breathe while crossing the road. I was there to get my niece from Guru Teg Bhadhur School, which is hardly 1 km from the spot. Students, who crossed the road, were having trouble breathing due to smoke and fire. The administration should take action in this regard.”

The victory of farmers against the three agri laws enacted by the Centre strengthened farmers’ resolve to act against law. Farmer union leaders claim that they have asked governments to provide any viable solution to straw management, but they have failed to do so. Farmers are now more organised after the victory of Delhi kisan morcha. The government can only motivate them to avoid straw burning but cannot take any strict action.

Earlier, the administration used to register cases and impose a penalty for burning crop residue, but now, officials avoid it. An official in the district administration said: “Suicides of debt-ridden farmers were major issue during the kisan morcha and Assembly elections. Farmer unions forced the government to amend the Environment Act to eliminate the provision of penalty for stubble burning. Moreover, farmers had supported the AAP for formation of government. The governments don’t want to get a tag of being anti-farmer.”

Burning wheat stubble claims one life in Tarn Taran

Tarn Taran: The burning of wheat stubble claimed one life in Warhian village and injured another person seriously in Tarn Taran. The deceased has been identified as Sukhwinder Singh (55), a resident of Jodhpur village. The man who got injured has not been identified as he was admitted to a hospital in Amritsar and his family has not approached the police so far. Jobanpreet Singh, son of deceased Sukhwinder Singh, said his father was a mechanic and was going to Chhola Sahib on his bike on Monday to meet his customer. When he reached Warhian village, the smoke due to the burning of wheat stubble there created non-visibility.

As a result, he stopped his motorcycle on the roadside and was waiting to get the atmosphere to get clear. In the meanwhile, another biker coming from the opposite side collided with his bike head-on. Both of them were injured and Sukhwinder was admitted to the Civil Hospital in Sarhali, from where he was shifted to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. The Chhohla Sahib police have lodged a report under Section 174 of the CrPC. — OC

Officialspeak

I joined office on Wednesday. Various departments of the district administration, including the Revenue Department, Agriculture Department and the police, keep a check on farm fires. There is no FIR against any farmer so far. But fire incidents are being reported in the region. We issue challans and impose penalty against violators. Moreover, we raise awareness among farmers about the ill-effects of burning stubble and provide them with an alternative to manage straw effectively. — Paramjit Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer