Latur, Oct 13 Sugarcane crop belonging to 22 farmers and spread over 52 acres of land was gutted in a major fire at a village in Maharashtra’s Latur district, a local office-bearer said.
The incident occurred at 12.40 pm on Monday at Wakdi village in Latur tehsil, he said.
A short circuit in an electricity distribution point (DP) possibly triggered the blaze, deputy sarpanch of the village, Mahadev Somase, told PTI.
According to a complaint submitted by the affected farmers, the fire reportedly broke out near an electricity distribution point and spread to adjoining sugarcane fields, causing extensive damage to the standing crop.
A substantial quantity of sugarcane was damaged, resulting in considerable financial losses, farmer Arun Somase told PTI.
Two fire brigade vehicles, one from the Latur Municipal Corporation and the other from a sugar factory, were pressed into service to douse the blaze, officials said.
The fire was brought under control by around 4 pm, the deputy sarpanch said.
Officials from the agriculture department, and panchayat samiti conducted assessment of the sugarcane loss on Tuesday.
The affected farmers are seeking appropriate compensation after the damage is assessed by the concerned authorities.
(PTI News)
