As the Punjab Government has begun cracking down on incidents of wheat stubble burning, farmers have intensified their opposition to punitive measures.

In Barnala and Mansa districts, one case each has been registered against farmers for allegedly setting fire to crop residue. Barnala police have booked Avtar Singh from Pandher village, while Mansa police have registered a case against Daljeet Singh of Khiva Dialu Wala village under Section 223 of the BNS for disobeying lawful orders.

The Barnala district administration has also issued show-cause notices to the DSP of Tapa, the SHO of Tapa police station, and three cluster officers for alleged dereliction of duty. Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh initiated the action after inspecting Dhilwan and Maur Nabha villages along with SSP Mohd Sarfaraz Alam on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, tensions prevailed at Cheema village in the Mehal Kalan Assembly segment on Thursday, where farmers gheraoed a team of officials who had reached to act against stubble burning. The activists of BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU (Dakaunda) joined the protest.

Farmer leader Darshan Singh Cheema said no action against farmers would be allowed, alleging that officials failed to assess crop losses during natural calamities. The officials, however, maintained they were acting on directions from the district.