Chandigarh- Speaker Punjab Vidhan Sabha Sardar Kultar Singh Sandhwan expressed deep grief over the destruction of wheat crop due to fire in village Sandhwan and Kothe Gajjan Singh. He directed SDM Kotkapura to send report of damage immediately and expedite the compensation process.
He appealed to the farmers to take necessary precautions to protect wheat crop from fire, so that such incidents can be avoided.It is worth mentioning that about 8 acres of wheat crop in village Sandhwan and about 10 acres of wheat crop in Kothe Gajjan Singh were destroyed due to fire.
Speaker Sandhwan urged the farmers for caution till harvesting of wheat is not completed. He highlighted that strong winds due to rising heat temperature, short circuits of electricity, or bidi- cigarettes used by workers are the main reasons for such incidents.
Due to unpaved roads, he added that there may be a delay in reaching the spot, so it is necessary to be prepared in advance at the village level.
He appealed the farmers to adopt the following precautions:
Wheat near the transformer should be harvested in advance.
If water is not required, the transformer switch should be kept off.
Availability of water should be ensured in the fields and water should be kept standing in the ditches.
Iron tanks should be filled with water and kept at common places and pipes should be arranged.
Big spray pumps should be kept ready and their contact numbers should be shared.
Small spray pumps should also be kept ready with water and petrol.
Fire extinguisher cylinders should be purchased jointly.
Laborers should be asked to be careful while using fire.
A team of village youth should be kept ready to extinguish the fire.
Plough cultivator should be kept in the field so that it can be used immediately when needed.
Every farmer should have the necessary contact numbers (Gurdwara Sahib, electricity grid etc.).
During these days, one should try to stay away from alcohol etc. so that farmers can remain alert at all times.
Finally, he said that if these precautions are adopted, the crop can be saved to a large extent from unwanted incidents like fire.