Wheat threshers cause maximum farming related accidents

Ludhiana, Nov 9: If farm power and machinery has reduced the drudgery of farmers, it has also led to occurrence of accidents.

Farm accidents are a common phenomenon due to overmechanisation of agricultural operations.

As compared to various agricultural machines in operation in Punjab, the wheat threshers, both haramoha and spike tooth type cause maximum accidents.

According to a study by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) agricultural engineers, of the total farm accidents in Punjab, threshers alone account for 35.2 per cent. These accidents have caused untold suffering to the operators of these threshers in Punjab as well as other states, who have lost their limbs and at times, even life.

Department of Farm Power and Machinery engineers C S Manes, Rajdeep Sharma and R Khurana have studied and surveyed ''adoption status of safety measures on threshers''.

According to the study in Punjab, there are about 3.12 lakh threshers that thresh in about 20 per cent area. The ''bhusa'' (wheat chaff) thus produced is used as cattle feed.

The study has revealed that about 40 million tonnes of this 'bhusa', worth Rs 400 crore, is wasted annually due to use of combine harvesters in the state. The number of combines operating in Punjab are around 9000. Even when straw combines are put to use to collect 'bhusa' from the field, the effective recovery is not more than 70 per cent.

The three engineers in the study observed that on one hand, introduction of threshers has reduced the cost, time and labour reqirement and given additional benefit of quality 'bhusa', on the other hand, threshers have also presented a host of problems: serious human accidents.

On paper, various types of test codes have been prescribed to make threshers safe. Even 'Dangerous Machine Act 1983' is also in vogue. Yet despite all these efforts, the occurrence of thresher accidents remains as high as 19.2 per cent.

The PAU engineers collected data from 25 manufacturers to study the safety measures adopted and also information from 20 farmers of Moga, Ferozepur and Ludhiana districts on their views about threshers. The data revealed that economic constraint including high test fee and cumbersome procedure of testing were impediments for manufacturers and so they did not get the thresher or feed chute certified.

Since safety or test certificate did not affect the sale, at least 25 per cent of the manufacturers did not feel the necessity to go in for these certificates. It was also observed that training regarding operation of machines was provided only by 20 per cent of the manufacturers and operational manual was made available by only 40 per cent manufacturers as literacy level was cited as the reason for this.

It also came as a shock to the PAU engineers that about 31.25 per cent farmers showed lack of concern for human safety while the remaining farmers remarked that ISI mark of safety certification by the competent authority was just a ''publicity gimmick'' of the thresher manufacturers and it unncessarily increased the cost of the machine. So the farmers brought threshers from a firm with ''a good reputation in the market''.

The study has showed that rotating components of the threshers were not fully covered and the ones that were covered used nuts and bolts, which was dangerous for the operators.

UNI