To check farm fires, Ropar cops on their toes, literally; video goes viral

Tribune News Service

Ropar, November 19

The show-cause notice by the higher authorities to a deputy commissioner and 11 senior superintendents of police (SSPs) in the state for their alleged failure in curbing stubble burning seems to have put the district administration officials as well as cops on toes.

While a large number of officials can be seen in fields day and night, a video clip of a few cops trying to extinguish a fire in fields by thumping their feet on the flames in Chamkaur Sahib area has gone viral on the social media today.

On inquiring, it was found that the three cops, Assistant Sub-Inspector Sohan Singh and constables Avtar Singh and Inderjit Singh, rushed to Raseedpur village and extinguished the fire.

ASI Sohan Singh, in-charge of Dalla police post, said he got information around 7 pm yesterday that a field at Raseedpur village had been put on fire. He along with two other cops reached the spot and initially tried to extinguish the fire using his cane while the smaller flames were doused using their feet, he said. Later, some locals also helped them to control the blaze.

Though Ropar district administration had set the target of no stubble burning case this year against a total 246 cases last year, still many of the farmers indulged in stubble burning. Till today, 46 cases were reported, of which 22 had been confirmed.

Deputy Commissioner Preeti Yadav said the efficient utilisation of machinery in the paddy fields helped in bringing down the cases. The administration had collected real-time data to manage the supply and demand for balers, ensuring a streamlined and responsive system.

She added that a total of 155 crop residue management (CRM) machines along with the utilisation of 1,230 older machines played a crucial role in efficient stubble management.

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#Agriculture #Environment #Farm Fires #Pollution #Ropar #Stubble Burning