GUJRANWALA/NAROWAL: Standing wheat crop over more than 78 acres, ripe for harvesting, was reduced to ashes in separate fire incidents reported from different areas in Gujranwala and Sheikhupura districts, officials said on Sunday, adding that timely response by Rescue 1122 firefighters, however, prevented heavy losses to the farmers.

According to Rescue 1122, in Kot Nisar Shah, Gujranwala district, a fire broke out in the wheat fields of a local farmer, Rana Aslam Shehzad, destroying the crop on nearly 12 acres. The cause of the fire remains unknown, the officials add.

In another incident near the old tehsil courts, Gujranwala, flames quickly spread across a farmland, damaging approximately 40 acres of wheat crop belonging to various landowners.

In both cases, locals made hectic efforts to extinguish the fire on their own before Rescue 1122 firefighting teams reached the scene.

Officials say Rescue 1122 teams, in a swift response, managed to contain the both blazes, preventing the fire from spreading to adjoining fields.

The affected farmers called on the government to provide immediate compensation to them and initiate a thorough investigation into the causes of the fire. They also demanded effective measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

Meanwhile, fires allegedly caused by short circuits burnt wheat crop over 26.5 acres approximately worth Rs3.6 million in two incidents in Sheikhupura district.

Rescue 1122 Sheikhupura spokesperson Rana Haroon says the control room received phone calls about two fire incidents, one at Gujar Dera village and the other Jetta village on Sharqpur Road.

According to the him, at Gujra Dera village a fire broke out because of a power short circuit in wheat fields, gutting the standing crop over 25 acres.

However, the Rescue 1122 firefighting team arrived on the spot and controlled the fire after around five-hour-long efforts.

He said that in another incident at Jetta village on Sharqpur Road, 11KV electricity wires caught fire and fell into a wheat field, destroying the crop over 1.5 acres.

The spokesman said that Rescue 1122 fire brigade arrived at the scene immediately after receiving a call and controlled the blaze.

He said no human casualty was reported in any of the fire incidents.

Local farmers Mohammad Ashraf and Qudratullah told Dawn that the high-intensity electricity wires passing through the fields are very dangerous, causing such fire incidents.

They claimed that the wheat burnt in the two incidents was worth Rs3.6 million, demanding that the government should remove the wires passing through the fields.

They urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take immediate notice of the situation.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2025