Power corporation urged to fix problem of hanging wires
Amritsar, April 1
In view of the large number of wheat crop burning incidents reported every year, the farmers have demanded from the Punjab State Power Corporation to tighten the loose electricity wires running over the agricultural fields as a significant number of the fires are caused by short circuiting of electricity wires.
The burning of wheat fields during harvesting season is a common occurrence as wheat stubble is highly combustible. Sometimes the fires are even caused by sparks produced by the grinding of parts of agricultural machinery. In a large number of cases, the fires are caused by short circuiting too.
“The fire accidents in wheat fields are occurring every year and sometimes when the damage is more the government too announces compensation. But neither the government nor the power corporation has learned any lesson. The solution to the problem lies in the fact that the PSPCL needs to improve its transmission system,” said a farmer Baltej Singh. He added that dry wheat stubble is so combustible that a fire starts it could burn hundreds of acre before it could be doused.
Meanwhile farmers body, Jamhoori Kisan Sabha held a protest at Attari today and appealed to the government to give compensation to the farmers who have suffered losses due to the recent rains in the region. Farmer leader Rattan Singh Randhawa said that flattening of crop has caused huge damages to the farmers and the government must announce a compensation of Rs 50000 per acre whose crops have been damaged severely.
Randhawa also demanded the PSPCL must act now to tighten the loose wires before the farmers suffer further damage. He added that farmers demand from the power corporation to fix its transmission lines every year but as it fails to act, hundreds of acres of wheat crop is burnt every year.
