Malda, West Bengal:
Ripe wheat in around 100 acres of land waiting to be harvested was gutted by a fire in Gajole area of Malda district on Wednesday, district administration sources said.
About 150 farmers living in four mouzas -- Deotala, Khardda Deotala, Bijanbari and Bhowel -- lost the yield in the blaze.
The sources said, in the morning a big farmer had set fire to the dry stems of wheat that was left in his field after harvesting. The fire spread from there to neighbouring fields.
"It's a normal practice before preparing soil for another crop. But in this case, the farmer did not pay heed to others' request not to burn the stems now as a large area full of unharvested wheat is there beside his own land," they said.
Farmers used their shallow pumps to douse the flames before two fire tenders reached the spot from the district headquarter Malda and Gangarampur.
The blaze that started spreading at about 7.30 am came under control after four hours, the sources said.
District Magistrate G Kiran Kumar said he instructed the local BDO to assess the quantum of loss and an arrangement for compensation would be made after getting the BDO's report.
Affected farmers put up a blockade on a key road for a long time demanding compensation, the sources said.