NAROWAL: A fire destroyed 55 acres of wheat on a Gharota farm, a border village in Shakargarh, on Monday.

As the fire broke out on the farm of Muhammad Ashfaq, locals of Gharota and other nearby villages and their families rushed to the spot in droves and took part in a community operation to control the fire. Farmers ran their water motors and tubewells to supply water to the locals.

After five hours of continuous struggle, when the fire was put out, it had devoured 55 acres.

Local residents Muhammad Abrar and Ibrahim said that we called Rescue 1122 several times but no aid came there. Nasir Mahmood and Mohammad Habib said that the golden wheat crop was ready to be harvested but the fire destroyed it. They said wind also frustrated their efforts. The estimate of the loss is Rs10 million.

Muhammad Tahir, the spokesman for Rescue 1122, said firefighters could not arrive at the fire spot on time due to heavy water in the tank of vehicles. The spokesman said that fire vehicles of Rescue 1122 arrived at the spot to put out the fire. He said the fire was brought under control by locals before rescue fire vehicles arrived.

Farmers and landlords protested against Rescue 1122 for not responding in time and showing negligence.

Locals demanded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Rescue 1122 Director-General Dr Rizwan Naseer take immediate notice of the situation.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2022