Punjab Farm Fires Destroy Crops – Help Farmers Recover from Devastating Losses!

As the wheat ready for harvest was creating a sea of gold on the green fields on Punjab's farms, fires caused by strong dry winds have ravaged acres of crops and left many farmers in Fatehgarh Sahib district and Sangrur area with nothing to show for their past year’s efforts. The linked article below has more details on the fires and the areas affected and below we have included a list, acquired from the reporting of Punjab Radio USA, of the exact amount of damage which farmers were affected. The devastation is palpable from the scenes of despair, as families hold back farmers from running into the fires as they attempt to avoid dealing with the crippling loss of all their crops.

Below is the amount of devastation by area. We will be updating this list as we receive information! According to the Punjabi Radio USA report of April 20th, Friday, 14 districts have been affected. There may be some families who have not yet reported their losses as the fires are ongoing and have not been fully contained.

Total Acres destroyed so far: 6,000 acres of wheat

List of areas affected:

• Barnala: 250 acres
• Bathinda: 4 acres
• Dirba Sub-Division: 19 acres
• Fazilka: 13 acres
• Faridkot: 700 acres
• Fatehgarh Sahib: 1,000 acres
• Gurdaspur: 37 acres
• Jalandhar: 13 acres
• Maarsa: 38 acres
• Nawanshair: 15 acres
• Patiala: 1,000 acres
• Pathankot: 14 acres
• Ropar: 7 acres
• Samura: 20 acres
• Sangrur: 900 acres

We will be aiming our efforts in the Fatehgarh Sahib district and will be raising funds to help families in those areas. If you or anyone you know may know of someone that may be able to help in these efforts and can provide aid, please reach out.

According to Punjabi Radio reporters, “Those who lost as much as 2 acres need help because this labor is very difficult to do. Farmers and pind waale need to come together to support each other in rebuilding their crops again.”

- “Khabar Te Nazar” morning report April 21, 2018

Report: https://www.facebook.com/PunjabiRadio/videos/2210259669001855/

The most affected areas currently are Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Patiala, and Sangrur. The cause of the fires are being investigated and we will update this information as the story develops. Thank You!