300 acres of harvested wheat crop gutted in Amritsar district

Wheat crop spread over 300 acres was destroyed in a fire in Rajasansi area of Amritsar district late on Friday night.

Around 30 farmers belonging to Othian, Jausan and Dhariwal villages were affected. “The crop in one of the fields caught fire due to a short circuit around midnight. As a wind was blowing, the fire spread over 300 acres in no time,” said Ajnala sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Anupreet Kaur.

The administration sent four fire tenders to bring the situation under control but could not save the crop, which was ready for harvest. Although the district administration is assessing the loss, it is estimated to be over ₹1 crore. “We have ordered the assessment of the crop loss and the case regarding compensation to affected farmers will be sent to the government,” said Amritsar deputy commissioner (DC) Kamaldeep Sangha.

Sukhraj Singh, an affected farmer, told HT, “There was some fault in the power station nearby. This led to a short circuit and the crop caught fire after a high-tension wire fell on it.The government must give us compensation immediately.”

District officials said they are preparing a list of farmers who lost their crop, and also probing the exact reason for the incident.

MP VISITS FARMERS

Lok Sabha MP Gurjit Singh Aujla visited the affected villages on Saturday and also sought a detailed probe in the incident from the Ajnala SDM.

He also inspected the 66-kV substation at Jastarwal as the fire is likely to have broken out due to a short circuit there.

Aujla alleged that the local station staff, in a bid to provide power supply to a factory nearby, tried to resume the power due to which sparking happened in the strong winds. He assured the farmers that he will discuss the issue of compensation with the authorities concerned and find a way to help them by using his MPLAD funds.