Farmer sets stubble afire for compensation, nabbed

PATIALA: The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) authorities have caught a Lalru-based farmer for setting his wheat stubble on fire to claim compensation from the power utility, following which the district administration has been asked to initiate action against the farmer.

A spokesman of the PSPCL said it had come to their notice that some farmers after harvesting their wheat crop were setting the stubble on fire to claim compensation from the corporation. In one such case, Jaswinder Singh of Toganpur village in Lalru subdivision lit the stubble and reported it as a fire caused by short-circuit in power lines passing over his fields after harvesting the wheat.

The local SDO, along with a junior engineer, visited the site immediately and found that the crop had already been harvested and the fire had been set to the stubble. Following this, the matter was reported to the district authorities for initiation of action against the farmer.

In another case, one person from Kalomajra village near Jansla informed SDO Banur that his wheat crop had caught fire and they had managed to control the situation. But when Banur SDO, along with JE and staff, reached the location, no fire incident had taken place.

The spokesman said the PSPCL had taken a serious note of such incidents and had written to the district authorities concerned to take appropriate action.