Sangrur : Throwing an open challenge to the district administration, Chatha Nanhera village farmers, led by the BKU (Sidhupur), today burnt paddy stubble on 4 acres.
They said they would not shun the practice and gherao officers, if anyone tried to stop them or took action against them. The BKU (Ugrahan), too, held rallies and meetings in villages today to mobilise support to burn stubble from Sunday onwards.
Earlier, Chatha Nanhera residents had burnt wheat stubble in the village and even prevented the entry of officers to the village.
“We have passed a resolution to burn stubble as we do not have the money to make alternative arrangements. We started the process by burning straw on 4 acres and in coming days, we will burn stubble across the fields. The entire village will stand guard. If any officer stop us, he will face the ire of disgruntled farmers,” said Ran Singh Chatha, block convener, BKU (Sidhupur).
The Sangrur administration has issued strict orders against stubble burning on the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The administration has directed all SDMs to act immediately if any such incident comes to their notice.