April 14 (Punjab Khabarnama) : Chief Agriculture Officer Dr. Karanjit Singh Gill said that wheat is the main crop of Hari, but every year, thousands of acres of wheat crop are destroyed by fire, due to which the farmers suffer a financial loss of crores of rupees. It has been observed that during the harvesting of wheat, loose electrical wires, sparks in electrical transformers, emitting smoke, cigarette thrown by the laborer or any other carelessness cause fire to wheat crop or wheat grain.
The Chief Agriculture Officer said that wheat is about to ripen in our fields in the coming days. Rising heat, strong wind or short circuit of electricity or burning of a cigarette by a laborer or a spark lit for cooking are the main causes of fire to our crops.
Dr. Karanjit Singh Gill said that such unexpected incidents usually happen, for which we hold the government or the electricity department responsible. We hope for help from the government fire department to put out the fire. Due to this, there is more pressure on them, but still it is normal for vehicles to be late due to rough roads, wheels etc. We have to prepare ourselves to face this problem. So there are some points through which we can manage this at our village level. It will cost nothing, but we can be alert and worry free, always ready to protect our crops.
Ready for the box
Some tips to protect wheat crop from fire
Harvest the wheat from where the transformer is planted. If water is not required, keep the transformer switched off. Fill iron tanks with water and place them in the middle of the fields, if possible with a long piece of pipe 100 feet deep. Keep all large spray pump tanks in the village filled with water. If the people of the village get together and buy five fire extinguisher cylinders, then it is a golden and auspicious thing. A list of 5 to 10 brave youths of the village should be kept to put out the fire and it should be tried that they do not go out of the village at such a time.
Keep the plows/cultivators in the field so that they do not have to run to the village in times of trouble. Every farmer should also have the mobile number of the person in charge of the Gurdwara Sahib so that the information can be spread throughout the village as soon as possible. Every farmer must also have electricity grid number so that power supply can be stopped during emergency.