Amritsar, May 31: Manjit Singh, elder brother of Mandeep Singh Dhardeo who reportedly raised the issue of waste dumping into a drain by Rana Sugars, has been booked for stubble burning. The action by the Mehta police came following a complaint by an official of Rana Sugar Mill, Butter Sivian.
Manjit Singh’s Randhawa Mushroom Farm, which has been awarded by the Directorate of Mushroom Research Centre of the Indian Council Agriculture Research (ICAR), is located near the mill.
Mandeep Singh, an AAP activist who also reports for a vernacular daily, had reportedly invited and accommodated Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira at Dhardeo village on May 27.
Ashok Kumar Mishra, chief security officer of Rana Sugars, filed a complaint at the Mehta police station on the next day that he witnessed stubble burning at Manjit Singh’s farm around 7 pm on May 27.
Mehta Station House Officer Amandeep Singh said a police team visited the spot on May 28 and found that Manjit Singh had burnt paddy stubble that they used to make sheds for the mushroom farm.
“As per the complainant, it was a violation of the orders of the Deputy Commissioner. So we have registered a case under Section 188 of the IPC,” the SHO said.
Meanwhile, Mandeep Singh claimed the burnt material was not crop residue, but “spent mushroom compost”. The same practice was being followed by all mushroom growers, he claimed.
“Rana Sugars authorities have been trying to settle scores with us for raising voice against the wrongdoings of the mill. I have been fighting against pollution caused by the mill since 2004. The police have not booked a single farmer in the block for stubble burning, but registered a case against my brother for burning that was not actually stubble,” he said.
Complainant Ashok Kumar Mishra, however, maintained, “The person has violated rules, so we have filed a complaint against him.”
The SHO said, “The farmer has claimed that there is no other way to destroy the residue… We have written to the Agriculture Department and Deputy Commissioner’s office. Any action will be taken only after we receive reports from the offices concerned.”
The sugar mill, meanwhile, has started cleaning the drain.
Source Tribune India
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