Bodies demand action against paddy arsonists
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, November 11 2021: Loumee Sinmee Apun Lup (LOUSAL) has strongly condemned the recent incident of burning ready-to-harvest paddy piles and demanded the government authority to investigate and arrest those involved in committing the act of arson.

Addressing a press meet at Manipur Press Club here on Thursday, LOUSAL general secretary Laishram Kiranjit said that farmers faced serious hardships this year due to various reasons including Covid-19 pandemic, urea scarcity and lack of rainfall.

Despite the hardships, they put in their resources and efforts with the hope of getting some harvest for the year ahead.

Burning the ready to harvest paddy piles is an inhumane act and those arsonists should not be spared under any circumstances.

This is not the first time the state witnessed incidents of burning paddy.

It is becoming a common trend in the past few years but the government did nothing to investigate or arrest those culprits, he said while stressing the need for a proactive law enforcing agency to act swiftly.

Expressing concern over the disturbing and provocative trend, he emphasised on the need for farmers to stay on overnight watch to foil such criminal acts.

He then urged the local clubs and organisations to take up collective responsibilities in protecting reaped paddy plants.

Asserting that the paddy crops that were lost in the incident would be worth around Rs 3 lakh, he appealed to the government to fairly compensate the four affected farmers.

Meanwhile, condemning in the strongest term the burning of reaped paddy plants from seven Sangams in Senjam Khunou, Senjam Chirang, Phumlou and Koutruk areas, All Manipur Progressive Farmers' Association (AMPFA) appealed to the state government to provide assistance to the victim farmers.

In a statement, AMPFA secretary general W Inao termed the incident as a criminal act and appealed to the authority concerned to investigate and book those miscreants responsible.

Burning of reaped paddy plants is becoming a common trend in the past few years.

While there might be various reasons including land dispute between villages, personal enmity or irresponsible act carried out by miscreants under the influence of intoxicants, the government has been unable to trace those miscreants and bring them to justice so far, Inao lamented.

Considering the small portion of land being used for agricultural purposes and vanishing agricultural field, the government should take the matter seriously and initiate strict measures to prevent such incidents.

Such criminal acts not only affect the livelihood of the individual farmers, who speod valuable resources and toil hard, but also the food production of the entire state, the statement pointed out.

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