Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 18: Dogra Sadar Sabha (DSS) J&K today demanded the Government to ensure availability of sufficient number of fire tenders in rural areas, particularly in Bishnah and Arnia areas to prevent the wheat crop from fire.
The demand was raised during a meeting of DSS office bearers, members, Sarpanchs, Panchs, Numberdars, Chowkidars and representatives of other grassroots organizations from different areas of districts Jammu and Samba, held today under the chairmanship of Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak, president of the Sabha, at Bishnah.
The meeting focused on seven major issues confronting the local population, particularly the farming community. During detailed deliberations, Charak appealed the UT administration to issue clear instructions to concerned departmental heads for immediate redressal of peoples’ grievances related to incidents of crop fires, long power cuts which affect pumped-irrigation of crops, eye wash in the name of de-silting/repair and cleaning of irrigation canal & its distributaries, dilapidated condition of roads and wide-spread drug menace, particularly in the border areas.
It was pointed out with grave concern that presently, there is just single fire tender available at Fire & Emergency Station/Fire Post, to cater to the whole of the border belt. The probability of wheat and other standing as well as harvested crops catching fire has increased manifold due to scorching heat of summer months. A strong appeal was therefore made to the Fire Services Department to immediately station at least one properly equipped fire tenders each at Arnia and Bishnah to prevent repeated occurrence of such cases during the current harvesting season.
During the meeting, members also demanded to impose a temporary ban immediately on the use of fire crackers, especially the flying objects like rockets, parachutes and flying lanterns, etc during the celebration of marriages etc in the warm rural areas of Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts as even a single spark from these crackers is sufficient to reduce the mature standing crops to ashes.
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