The official was surrounded by a gaggle of 50-60 farmers.
Chandigarh:
A bunch of farmers allegedly pressured a authorities official, who was a part of a crew to stop farm fires, to set a heap of paddy stubble on hearth in Punjab’s Bathinda district. The incident drew condemnation from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
A purported video of the complete incident additionally surfaced on social media. Chief Minister Mann mentioned an FIR will likely be lodged within the matter.
Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray on Saturday mentioned he has written to the senior superintendent of police to register an FIR in opposition to the farmers for stopping the official from discharging his obligation.
The incident occurred in Mehma Sarja village on Friday when a crew led by a particular supervisor went there to verify stubble-burning incidents.
The deputy commissioner mentioned the official was surrounded by a gaggle of 50-60 farmers linked to a farmers’ physique, who took him to a close-by discipline and compelled him to place a heap of stubble on hearth.
Within the video, farmers could possibly be heard saying that those that got here to cease stubble burning had been made to set the crop residue on hearth.
The video additionally exhibits that the official’s hand was held by two farmers as they pressured him to set the stubble on hearth with a matchstick. The video was made by one of many farmers.
“When he (official) was mobbed, what possibility may he have? He had no selection,” DC Parray mentioned.
The DC mentioned that an FIR will likely be lodged within the matter and those that had been behind the incident will likely be put behind bars.
“I’m additionally visiting the village… Lawlessness is just not one thing that we are going to tolerate,” mentioned the DC.
The DC mentioned he has already written to the Bathinda SSP, and added that the FIR will likely be lodged.
In a press release, Chief Minister Mann condemned the incident as an “inhuman crime” in opposition to individuals of the state.
He mentioned the state authorities can’t be a mute spectator to this “heinous” incident and permit “anarchy” to prevail.
The federal government official had gone to fields to disseminate the message of not burning the paddy straw however the “mobsters” pressured him to mild the straw with matchstick, which is insupportable, he added.
The chief minister mentioned such persons are ruining the lives of their very own kids by this “dastardly” act because the smoke from these fields will make the youngsters suffocate.
Mr Mann, whereas quoting ‘Gurbani’, mentioned the verse ‘Pawan Guru, Paani Pitaah, Mata Dharat Mahat’ explains how the nice Gurus equated air (pawan) with instructor, water (paani) with father and land (dharat) with mom. Sadly, he mentioned this incident has mirrored that the phrases of the nice Gurus will not be honoured within the state.
Mr Mann mentioned he had requested the police to determine the “mobsters” concerned within the act and guide them for this “misdeed”.
This sort of “chaos and sin” won’t be tolerated at any price and stern motion will likely be taken as per the regulation of the land, he mentioned.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is taken into account one of many main causes behind the alarming spike in air air pollution ranges within the nationwide capital in October and November.
Because the window for wheat — a key Rabi crop — could be very quick after the paddy harvest, some farmers set their fields on hearth to shortly clear off the crop residue for sowing of the following crop.
Punjab has reported a complete of 12,813 stubble-burning incidents until Friday, in line with information from the Punjab Distant Sensing Centre.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)