Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 29: Former Minister, Ex MLA, Marh and Chairman Panchyati Raj Cell BJP JKUT, Sukhnandan Kumar today made an extensive tour of villages Gadkhal, Sidhrwan,Garkhal Camp, Patwar Ladiyan in Akhnoor tehsil and took stock of the situation as near about 300 kanals of standing crop of wheat has been destroyed here due to fire.
While interacting with the former Minister the local villagers informed him that as and when they reached at the spot the whole stretch of near about 300 kanals of wheat was destroyed completely. The nearby Sikhlai regiment of Indian Army at Garkhal has helped a lot to took control over the fire.
The former Minister appealed the JKUT Administration to announce adequate compensation of the loss in favour of the farmers whose six months hard work has gone into vain due to the accidental fire.
“Such incidents often happened every year in these days and most of those due to the short circuit,”he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that in recent days at villages Sai, Hanso Chak and Arnia in R.S.Pura tehsil, a huge chunk of standing wheat has also been destroyed due to fire.
He also urged the UT Government to take serious note of such incidents and fix accountability of the departments/officials due to which such incidents have taken place again and again.
He was of the view that in every harvesting season the administration ensure at least two fire brigade vehicles at each tehsil headquarters across the Jammu division so that loss of crops due to fire can be minimized.
Further he also demanded that Procurement centre’s should be opened at the earliest as the private players have started procuring wheat at Rs.1700/per quintal against the Government rate of Rs.1975,which is also a great loss to the farming community.
Tehsildar Akhnoor Surinder Singh,Sarpanch Panchyat Gadkhyal Kashmir Singh, ex Sarpanch Rajpura Dhanantar Singh, Lamberdar Mulltan Singh, Panch Mangal Singh and Darshan Singh etc. also accompany the former Minister during the tour.
Meanwhile, BJP Kissan Morcha president Omi Khajuria who also visited Akhnoor area along with his team has said that wheat crop over 600 Kanals of land in Akhnoor and R S Pura in Jammu division has been burnt to ashes due to devastating fire.
Khajuria in an appeal to the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has demanded free ration be given to the affected farmers for one year and they be also provided adequate compensation for the loss suffered by them.
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